


The Benson Burner Project

by Rihaan



Category: DanWarp Universe, Victorious, Zoey 101, iCarly
Genre: F/F, F/M, Light Dom/sub, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-21
Updated: 2017-07-17
Packaged: 2018-02-05 14:47:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 49,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1822297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rihaan/pseuds/Rihaan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Sam first met Freddie, halfway through their summer break and on their way to the seventh grade, he annoyed her. So she taught him to never mess with her again. Unsuccessfully. She just didn’t get it. How was he still smiling, the next day, talking to Carly, glaring at his newest bully, as if DARING her to try that again?</p><p>Featuring, for probably the first time, Freddie with a pair.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Domination

When Sam first met Freddie, halfway through their summer break and on their way to the seventh grade, he annoyed her. So she taught him to never mess with her again.

Unsuccessfully. She just didn’t get it. How was he still smiling, the next day, talking to Carly, glaring at his newest bully, as if  _daring_ her to try that again?

So, the moment the two were left alone, she did it again.

One would think that Samantha Puckett would love her very own punching bag that kept coming back, ready to be hit once more. A moving target was always fun, but if it always moved towards you like a magnet? That was her dream.

However, now that the dream was recognized, she realized that it wasn’t fun. It wasn’t even mildly amusing anymore. It was damn near frustrating.

During the first week of school, he found himself in a locker because he had found a new nickname for Sam: Demon.

Yet he still made it to the next class – that he happened to have with Sam. She was so shocked that he had escaped so quickly, she didn’t even try to get him back after he sent a cocky smirk in her direction before paying attention to the teacher, ignoring her for the rest of the class.

However, the next day, she snuck up on him while he was talking to Carly (incidentally, this was the first time Freddie worked up the nerve to finally ask Carly out) and before he could get an answer, she tackled him to the ground, face-down, and bent his arm behind his back. Carly shrieked, and Freddie made nothing more than a grunt when the impact to the floor made him expel air, and a wince as he felt his arm about to break.

“Say Uncle!” She screamed, smiling at him, finally putting him in his place.

“Uncle!” He grunted, and she pulled his arm harder, wanting him to tap out. It was then that she noticed that his other arm was trapped beneath his body.

Her eyebrows scrunched together. His hands were behind his back when she was approaching him. When did he have enough time to put his hand in front of him? Hell, when she slammed him, they slid forwards a few feet. She made sure it was unexpected and fast. She wouldn’t have been surprised if he had needed an inhaler by how fast she tackled him.

“Sam, get off of him!” Carly yelled to her.

She absently nodded and got off, too distracted to give a valid reason to her best friend on why she  _shouldn’t_. He saw him slowly start to get up and turned around, murder in his eyes.

That’s wasn’t what grabbed her attention, though. She looked at his clothes; unwrinkled in the slightest. His buttons were un-popped, his shirt perfectly tucked, even his collar was unruffled. He looked like he had never even been tackled from behind. He had slid across the floor, there had to be some scrape! A rash, anything!

After a few seconds of glaring, he shook his head and turned to Carly. She looked towards Sam and Freddie, back and forth, and stumbled out a bunch of incomprehensible words. Freddie sighed.

“I don’t need your pity, Carly. Whatever answer you were going to say before Sam interrupted, say it.”

Sam frowned. He had completely ignored her. “The answer’s no,  _nub_.”

Freddie gave a half-glance in her direction. “That’s my new nickname, now?  _Nub_? Your creativity amuses me, Puckett.”

“Oh, like  _Demon_ is original? Yeah, that’s  _why_ you’re a nub.”

“Yeah, figure I might change it anyway. That almost implies you’re a goddess; you’re barely  _human_.”

“Guys!” Carly yelled. “Stop fighting! We’re gonna be late for class!” She started walking down the hall.

“Carly – ” Freddie called after her.

She turned back to Freddie. “Sorry, Freddie, but – “

The bell rang.

Carly eep’ed and hurried down the hall. “Really sorry!” She yelled back, and turned the corner.

Freddie closed his eyes for a moment. The first time he asked out a girl, and he was rejected. It really wasn’t a good feeling. He opened his eyes to see Sam nonchalantly putting her bookbag in her locker.

“Don’t look at me, nub. Not my fault she rejected you. That was all  _your_ charm.”

“And you didn’t want to risk a positive answer if this went  _normally_ , so you sabotage me?”

“Of course not, nub. I knew she was going to reject you – you’re a nub. Besides, I was going to do it later today anyway. I saw you, so I thought I might as well get it out of the way.” She paused. “Though I might get a little…antsy after lunch. A full Sam is a happy Sam. A happy Sam is a dangerous Sam.”

Freddie narrowed his eyes at her. He damn well knew that any feeling Sam had led to a dangerous Sam.

“By the way, nub; you don’t look hurt. But you screamed ‘Uncle’ in like, two seconds. What’s up with that?”

Freddie absently rubbed his arm. He was rubbing his forearm, which was a little strange to her. Shouldn’t he be popping his joints or something? She was mainly torturing his shoulder. “You told me to say uncle, and I did,” He said in explanation. He didn’t intend to sound like a smart alec. But he blamed his tone on his natural genius. Smiling while he said it probably wasn’t helping, either.

Sam slammed her locker. “So you tricked me, and admitted it? You’ve got balls, nub.”

Freddie turned around. “Back at ya, Puckett,” he said as he walked back to class.

The shock of the insult caused her to drop her books to the ground. And she took off.

Once again, she was disappointed to get only a grunt from him as she tackled him to the ground again. And, once again, with her full weight on him, he had found a way to get his arm under him.

It was then that she noticed that she was grabbing the same arm that she grabbed before. His right arm.

But before, Freddie was rubbing his left arm.

Curiosity overtook her as she slowly put her head down to his side. What she saw made her jaw hang slightly.

He was holding both himself  _ and_ her up with his forearm. That was how he didn’t dirty himself on the ground before! Even she had to admit that the boy had some hidden muscles.

This just angered her. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she pulled Freddie’s arm harder behind his back and threatened to twist it.

“Uncle!” He yelled in the deserted hallway.

“I’m not falling for it, nub! You’re just gonna have to wait until I’m convinced.”

“Sam, I have to get to class!” In hindsight, she should’ve realized that he didn’t sound all that hurt. He sounded…uncomfortable, like he was sitting down awkwardly.

“You’re already late, might as well skip it!”

“You’re going to keep me like this?!” Freddie yelled at her, forcing his head to look behind his shoulders.

They were both silent for a few moments. Freddie, looking backwards at the position of his arm, and Sam, seriously considering the question.

“You know what, Fredward? You just said the smartest thing I’ve heard from you since we met.  _Better get comfortable_.”

Freddie stayed silent, his eyes clouded. Sam noticed, and pushed his arm up further, quickly reaching spraining territory. That seemed to break him out of his stupor.

Once again, he did not sound pained when he spoke. But he did sound rather…detached. “Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?”

Sam was silent once again. She even relaxed her hold on him ever-so-slightly. “You’re not worth Carly’s or my time, that’s why,” she finally spoke.

“Then tell me how I can be,” Freddie pleaded.

Once again, hindsight was a bitch. But at that moment, she couldn’t have even told herself  _why_ she tightened her grip on his arm and gritted her teeth.

She really didn’t know why she had tortured him so much in the past month. Sure, he was a nerd, and a  _dorky_ nerd at that, but there were plenty of nerds to harass. Could it be the fact that Carly was so  _sweet_ and  _nice_ , she couldn’t turn down Freddie’s friendship just because they were neighbors, and now Sam was doomed to be his ‘friend’ by acquaintance?

If she wasn’t worried about a teacher coming across them, she would have given a loud battle cry. This nub was going  _down_ , one way or another. Maybe jumping on him would break him down, literally and figuratively? She lifted her body off of his and jumped high into the air, her feet pointing upwards, his arm still firmly in her hands.

Apparently, they weren’t locked firmly enough. Before Sam could even comprehend his range of unexpected reflexes, he wrenched his arm out of her grasp and quickly turned around. She barely saw a smirk flash across his face before he caught the arm she was about to use to catch herself on the floor, and  _slung _ her entire body over to the cold tiles as he completely rolled over. She hit the back of her head, hard. She landed awkwardly on her side, after bouncing once on the floor.

But that wasn’t enough to take out Sam Puckett. But before she could gather her thoughts – or even get over the shock of what the nub just did to her – Freddie had flipped her over completely and was already on her back. Now it was  _his_ hands locking  _her_ arm in place. Ironically, she also had her other arm stuck underneath her, but it was just that – stuck.

She let out a small grunt of rage and tried to pry free, but it was no use. It was like she was trying to break out of regulation handcuffs, but without a key, a hairpin, a hairbrush bristle, or someone else’s skull. He was strong! She almost let out a scream of frustration, but she stopped herself. She couldn’t let a teacher or students see her like this, at someone’s  _mercy_.

But she knew she had to get out. She tried to roll, but now it was Freddie that threatened to break her arm, by twisting it further up. She let out a gasp. She just knew he was centimeters away from a dislocation.

“Ah!” She grunted softly, grimacing at the pain in her own voice. “Get off of me!”

“You know the rules, Sam.” He said in a frosty tone. “You made them, after all.”

“U- u- u- uggghhhh….”

“I’m sorry, what was that? Is your arm blocking the range from your mouth to my ear? Let me just move it up for you…” He twisted it up sharply, and a small pop echoed through the hall, quickly followed by a small whine.

For a moment, Sam wondered who made such a girlish whine. Then she realized she was still making the sound and stopped immediately.

“Pride’s not helping you right now, Sam,” Freddie said, leaning over her. “I’ve got you pinned. Would you rather walk away with a broken arm, or swallow your pride and forget this ever happened?”

“G-go to hell…”

“Coming from a Demon? I’m touched.” He wiggled her arm a bit, causing her to gasp and let out shaky breaths with each tug.

“Stop! S-stop!”

“Puckett, stop breaking your own rules. You know  _damn_ well I’m not going to stop.” She didn’t even notice that he cursed.

She would not cry. She refused to cry. That would be worse than any defeat. But her body was going to force the tears out of her if he kept this up. So she stopped fighting. “Okay! Okay! U-uncle!”

“What was that?”

“ _Uncle!_ “

“Oh. See? Was it really that hard?”

“Get off of me!”

Even though she couldn’t see it, Freddie looked confused. “Why would I do that?”

“I said  _uncle_!”

“Oh.” He was quiet for a moment. “I said I was going by  _your_ rules. ‘Say Uncle’ has been around for a while.”

Sam, in indescribably horrible pain, had a sting in her eyes as the ramifications hit her.

“ _Better get comfortable_ , Puckett. Gonna be here a while.”

She whimpered.

“What? Don’t like it when you’re not the one in control? Don’t like it when the Dom’s become the  _bitch_?” He teased, and she gave a primitive growl and butted her head back, narrowly missing Freddie’s chin by his peach hair stubble. “Still biting? Hope I don’t have to put you down… again.” He quickly reached for the back of Sam’s head and pressed her cheek to the cold tiles. He leaned in close.

“Don’t… do that… a-gain.” She had to pause at the menacing tone, and she had to think for a second if that was actually Freddie speaking. For the first time in a long time, she was honestly a bit scared. Not much, knowing who she was dealing with – she knew he wasn’t going to do anything to her, and he would let her go eventually – but this was still a scary situation for her. Knowing she was powerless, vulnerable, and if he had an agenda, she knew she would truly be afraid at this moment.

Sam tried to turn her head, but it was useless. He was completely holding her down, and she couldn’t even move her legs at this point, all the circulation was cutting off.

So she decided to try a tactic that she had never used before, but she knew a sap like him would fall for: being nice.

“Please let me up!” She pleaded, and she was almost amazed at herself at how good an actress she was. “You made your point. I won’t bother you again. I won’t even  _talk_ to you again! I’ll even talk to Carly for you!”

Freddie gave a humorless chuckle. “How come I just  _ know_ you’re not even considering being serious?” He asked rhetorically. “The second I let you go, you’re going to be throwing punches with your good arm ’til the teachers hear my screams. And you still won’t stop.” He chuckled again, even colder this time. He put her arm in a less painful grip and kept his hand on her wrist. “Why should I let you go, Demon?”

She gave a long sigh at the more comfortable position of her arm, but grimaced as she realized he was keeping her cheek pressed to the floor. “Look, I’m – I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry for the way I’ve been treating you! I’ll be nice to you. I’ll hook you up with Carly – whatever you want!”

He was silent for a few seconds, and Sam was relieved that she had at least gotten into his head.

“Your…” he paused, “Your full name is Samantha Puckett, right?”

She twitched at the full name, but couldn’t retort. Yelling at him was going to make it worse. “Yes.”

Freddie was silent for another moment. “You’re a natural blonde, correct?”

Sam was confused – was he going to let her go or not? “Erm… yeah. Can you  _please_ let me go now?” She added extra emphasis to that statement. She planned on that being the last time she ever said such a disgusting and hate-less word… to anyone other than Carly, of course.

Instead, all she got was a firm smack to the back of her head, before his hand grabbed her head again, putting her back under his control before she even realized her head was free.

“The last two were truths,” he said, squeezing her wrist, “but everything before that was bull.”

Sam’s eyes closed with a grimace; he was checking her pulse the entire time. Before she could even fake an apology, Freddie raised his arm again and began smacking the back of her head half-heartedly.

“Ow! Ow! Freddie! Okay, what do you want me to say? I’m in pain and you’re cutting off the circulation in my legs! My face is feeling numb and my other hand is trapped under me!”

Her breasts also really hurt from the pressure, but she definitely wasn’t going to tell him that.

She decided to go for half-statements and half-truths, a classic way of getting out of lie-detectors. “Did you hear me? I give up!” ‘ _ For now, _ ‘ she finished the thought in her head. “I’m not going to hurt you again!” ‘ _ For the rest of class.’ _ “I’m sorry!” ‘ _ Your crazy mother didn’t decide to drop you off at the city dump!’ _

Unfortunately for her, Freddie was no longer holding her wrist. “I don’t care what you say, Sam. You’re not getting out of here. It was me in this situation five minutes ago. You wouldn’t have let me up. You probably would’ve popped my arm by now, and started on the other one.”

She said nothing. She was sure she wouldn’t have popped anything. She would’ve broken it. In fact, if she got the chance to break out, she was sure she’d be sent to Juvie for, believe it or not, only the third time in her life.

“Though, I suppose I could help you out a little…” Freddie mumbled.

Sam froze. She didn’t know what changed his mind – maybe he did fall for her half-truths – but she was going to keep quiet, so he could continue his tone of thought.

And then, Freddie lifted her up by her arm. That was when she struck with a force that she didn’t even know she had.

Well, tried to. See, she didn’t know that when Freddie was lifting her, he was only moving her about half a foot from the ground. That gave her enough space to finally move her arm to strike him. Freddie obviously counted on that, for his hand was ready to catch her arm when it reached high enough.

Less than a second later, she found herself in a similar predicament. She was still face-down. Both hands were behind her back, her wrists tightened in a way she was familiar with – her weak points exploited in a simple restraint. She knew that in this position, her arms couldn’t even move if her wrists were held together by just his thumb and middle finger, if he wanted to seize them that way. She would have probably had the full strength to rip her arms out of his hands if one of them hadn’t almost popped out of her shoulder socket earlier.

Freddie wordlessly got up, still holding on to her wrists. Sam tried struggling, but now it only seemed like she was twitching violently. He squashed that by re-sitting on her upper back, facing her shoes.

Sam gave a cry of pain as her nipples scratched along the floor when he sat.

“When I get out of this…” She growled.

“When you get out of this…” he prompted, his mind rather focused on the sight in front of him.

“I’m going to  _ fucking_ maim you.”

Freddie gave a low whistle. “Bad word, Sam! That’s unbecoming of you. I’d ask if you kiss your mother with that mouth, but from what I’ve seen of you so far, she must be either dead or embarrassed of your existence.”

Sam gritted her teeth. “She cares enough that if she finds out what you’re doing to me right now…”

“I’m not doing anything to you,” Freddie chuckled. “Believe me, I could be doing a lot worse.”

“Like what?” She dumbly asked, shock on her face.

She immediately regretted it.

_SMACK._

She yelped as his hand firmly swatted at the left cheek of her rear, her jeans not really protecting her as much as she wanted. “Ah! What the fuck!”

“Do you want the  _ whole school_ to see you like this, Sam?” Freddie asked her, poking her cheek with emphasis. “I suggest you quiet down. Oh, and…”  _SMACK_ , “…no more cursing. Kay?”

“Fuck you, you freak!” She growled at him, considerably quieter.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

“Ow! Oh! Ow! Okay, Freddie! – Ah! – I won’t – Oh! – curse anymore!” His hits were unbelievably hard on her barely protected ass. She felt herself starting to cry. “Stop! Please! Sto – Ow! –  _please_!”

Freddie paused to rest his hand. For such a domineering, controlling girl, she had a  _very_ nice bum. He placed his hand on her ass, gently this time, and began rubbing it softly.

Sam kept herself from sniffing, she felt her nose starting to run. “Wha- what do you think you’re – “

“I’m making you feel better,” He said simply, in his own world, bringing both hands into the fun.

If she was any louder, she knew he would have heard the distress in her voice, but she didn’t want to let him see her cry. “S-Stop…”

“Unless you want me to spank you again, then massage it, then spank it a third time,  _shut up_ , Sam.”

It hurt almost as much as the spanking itself, refraining herself from talking. She sobbed silently to herself as Freddie had his way with her, kneading her ass like dough.

Wait… his hands were on her ass. So what was holding her hands together? She moved her hands minutely, and felt him twitch a little.

He was  _sitting_ on her hands. She began struggling again, newly enraged.

He  _tsked_ and quickly grabbed her hands again. “I was just starting to enjoy myself,” he muttered, watching her squirm and struggle. Rather, watching her ass jiggle and shake. He began smacking her bum with not nearly enough ferocity, but with just as much vigor. It didn’t hurt as much, but her ass was still red and sensitive, and she cried out in pain. “You know, I don’t think you’ve ever had a  _proper_ spanking before.” He ignored the muttered ‘No shit, Sherlock,’ for now. “Your attitude is appalling. I think it’s time for one.”

Before she could register what he said, he roughly turned her over on her back and effortlessly unbuttoned the front of her jeans.

Then she began kicking, but he had already sat on her stomach, his hands holding hers in place. It didn’t stop him from loosening her pants, but it did stop him from trying to pull them down. Actually, she was trying to kick his teeth in.

She didn’t notice when he began pulling on his shoelace. She  _did_ notice when he caught one of hers in mid-kick. He sat on her hands again and quickly grabbed both of her legs to unloosen her laces. She was absolutely powerless in his grip, she quickly came to realize. He extended his legs to wrap around her own, as he quickly, without fumble, tied both her shoelaces together.

Her legs were trapped until she found a way to kick off her shoes. She was already planning to do it while he tried to rip off her pants again when she realized he didn’t stop. She felt him tie the other ends of the laces around her ankles, and put it all into one elegant, extravagant knot.

Freddie grabbed her wrists again with a small smile. He grabbed the shoelace from his own sneaker, that he had thrown to the side momentarily, and slowly tied her hands together in such a complicated knot, she got lost at the fifth loop.

“Boy Scouts,” he explained unnecessarily.

“What the hell are you doing to me,” she muttered, dazed. He had noticed her tear-stained face, and said nothing about it. He had known since she started.

“Well, I guess I’m about to spank you,” He chuckled half-heartedly, “I’ve got this far. Not like I’m gonna let you continue being a bitch for the rest of your life.”

“I am going to  _fucking_ kick your  _teeth_ in when I get out of this, you  _pervert_!”

“Pervert?” Freddie asked, pondering the word. “It beats ‘Nub’, I guess. Much better than ‘Freak.’ But you can do better than that.” With that, he began peeling down her jeans.

Her legs were flawless, and pale, but certainly not as pale as the legs on Carly. For all of Sam’s toughness, she had a  _very_ girlish figure. He figured it was time she got to know the more feminine side of Samantha Puckett.

She had on a pair of black boxers, the single button undone. She must not have seen a point in it, it’s not like anything would slip out or something, and she wouldn’t need to mess with the button to go pee.

He was interrupted with his thoughts when she began struggling, yet again. He turned back to look at her, and a smirk found a way onto his face. “Seems like you’re enjoying this.”

She stopped struggling for a second to glare at him, then in confusion as she realized he was looking elsewhere. Looking down, her face turned red. He was looking at her nipples. Her fully distended, rock-hard nipples.

She felt no need to wear a bra at her age – besides, they made her feel too girly – so only her yellow polo shirt was in the way. Normally, she would have worn an undershirt or a wifebeater, but she had not been wearing those all summer, and she had forgotten to wash them before going back to school. She didn’t have the chance to steal some quarters, or to drop her load off at Carly’s. She would have washed them next week.

He quickly swept his hands over her breasts, and brushed over her nipples. She squeaked and tried to turn over. This time, he allowed it, and stood up a little for her to roll over on her stomach to keep his hands away from her. She didn’t know why he let her, but she was just a little thankful that he did.

“Fucking pervert!” She cursed, and cried out as her bum was slapped yet again, with a ferocity that had her trying to scamper away. Once again, Freddie allowed it.

But he had hooked a finger into her waistband, and let her do all of the work. Her boxers were halfway down to her knees when she felt a small breeze that made her yelp, and the scratching against her thighs made her realize what she had just done. Freddie barely had the time to see her cute, reddened ass before she quickly backed up into her boxers again. He chuckled at her antics, and she only growled in response.

“You’re wearing very thin boxers, you know,” He commented, looking at the curvature of her ass. Seeing the reddened cheeks just made him want to hit it again and again, until it glowed. “Doesn’t really bother me if you’re wearing them or not.”

Sam turned her head towards her captor, tears in her eyes. She was desperate, they both knew it. She knew what he was planning, and even if she was wrong, there was no way she would like whatever other options he had in his head. “Look… Freddie…whatever you’re thinking of doing… don’t do it…please.”

He humored her, running his hands over her cheeks with fondness. “Why not?”

“You could get caught! We’re in the middle of the hallway!”

He chuckled. “ _ You’re _ the bad girl. I thought you would like the risk.”

“I  _don’t_.”

“Then by all means, scream. Call for help. Do whatever you need to do.” He began rubbing her thighs, loving the feel of her flawless skin and the abrupt, upwards curve of her cheeks. “Just hope that they don’t have a pearPod when they see you. Or hope that they don’t want to join in on the fun. You have a lot of enemies here, Puckett. I’ve done my research.”

She acknowledged that with a frown. She was aware that she was the bully of Ridgeway Middle School. Sure, she had friends – mostly mutual friends of Carly’s – but anyone she didn’t know was usually either a victim or someone who was aware of her legend. They wouldn’t help her.

She tried one more tactic. “What about Carly?”

He abruptly stopped fondling her ass. “What about her?”

She would have smirked, had she not been crying half a minute ago. “She’s my best friend. I tell her everything. If you think I’m gonna just skip this in our next conversation…” She paused to let her words sink in.

She smirked. “She’ll think you’re a  _ monster_. A pervert. A  _stupid_ little boy who couldn’t keep his hands to himself.” She turned back to smile at him, but was struck cold by the calculating look on his face.

“Fair point.” He muttered, and smiled. He slowly slipped his hands under her waistband again, and roughly grabbed both cheeks, causing her to yelp. “But if I decided I  _really_ wanted Carly’s attention, then I wouldn’t be doing this to her best friend in the first place.”

“Wh-what?!”

He ignored her for a moment, and took the next step in fondling her. He slipped his finger between the crack of her lovely inner thighs, and slowly slid his finger across her hairless lips.

She forced out a sob. “Please! No! Stop!” No one had ever touched her like this, and she had rarely done so herself. She had tried it, found that she didn’t like it that much, and never looked back. At that moment, she was ashamed to say, her body liked  _this_ too much.

He stroked her virgin lips for a few more seconds until he felt a little moisture seep out of her tight pussy. Her legs were squeezed together tightly, and he decided that she needed to loosen up.

“Carly’s a very cute girl,” Freddie casually spoke. “Beautiful, really. Nice smile, nice personality, very friendly, but… she’s a bit… underdeveloped, you know?” His finger slipped in her delicate crack and rubbed along her inner walls, not quite going in. “You, on the other hand, are a horrible person. You’re not sweet, not loving, not considerate in any way, but…” He paused to partially slip his finger in, and she winced and shuddered. “the outside is the complete opposite. If your inner beauty could reflect your outer beauty, you’d be the most desirable girl in the school.” His finger wiggled inside her a bit, and she cried even harder as her legs relaxed, desperate for more.

He turned her over, again, and this time she followed like a ragdoll. He grabbed her waistband with his free hand and rolled it down to halfway past her thighs. She began to struggle again, but this time it was different. Freddie grinned as he realized she was pretending to struggle, shaking around for effect, but wiggling her hips so he could maneuver her boxers down a little bit.

He finally got to see her hairless cunny in all its glory. It really was beautiful. Her pussy lips were a pinkish hue, and would have been sealed tightly together had his finger not gotten in the way. He shuddered as her snatch seemed to swallow his finger in, wetting it with her fluids.

That was when he truly began pumping his finger in and out. Sam let out her first moan seconds later, never having felt something this intense. A small squelching sound was heard as he went in and out, the tight space suffocating his finger. Sam didn’t even notice that she had lifted her knees to give him better access, she was trying to keep herself from moaning.

He pulled out his finger, and it took everything she had in her to try not to lift her hips to keep it in, and failed. He turned towards Sam with a small grin, and she tried to look away. She really, really tried.

Right when she felt that she had almost succeeded, he stuck his glistening finger in his mouth and quickly pulled it out. She froze in shock as his smile got wider. “Tangy,” was all he said.

Before she could make a noise, whether it was going to be a groan, a moan, or a gasp, even she didn’t know, he had put his index and middle finger together and began to prod her hole again. It was a tight fit, but he wiggled his way in, and made a ‘come hither’ motion with his fingers.

She lurched with a small “Oh!” and felt herself getting close. Her pussy was on fire – she wanted to play with her breasts so bad. She would kick his ass later, she just needed to get off and she would be able to think straight again. Yeah, that’s it. She just needed him to fuck her little pussy good and hard – with only his fingers, of course – and then she would kick the shit out of him. And maybe return the spanking, maybe with a belt -

“Aaaah!” She whined softly as she had a mini-orgasm, the squelches getting louder, Freddie’s fingers going faster. He began tracing circles on the tiny bundle of nerves that finally decided to show itself. “Oh, fuck!” She murmured, humping along with him, all pretenses gone. She needed this. She didn’t  _want_ this, she told herself, she  _needed_ this. She hated what he was doing, but she loved every  _fucking_ second of it.

Freddie stood, taking his fingers out of her again, and she couldn’t believe the whimpering sound that came out of her. She just  _whimpered_! Like a little bitch begging for a bone! Okay, bad metaphor…

She shivered in shock when he pulled up her shirt, baring her breasts to him.

While her breasts were in no way big, she had a lot more to offer than Carly, who was stuck on a training bra for now. Her pink nipples were painfully untouched and engorged with blood, surrounded by quarter-sized areolas. She never thought they were much to look at. Either way, Freddie gazed upon them with pure lust as he slid his tongue across her right nipple while putting his fingers back inside her, wiggling them wildly as he went through the entire process of trying to loosen her up.

Sam moaned and gasped as she writhed in Freddie’s grasp, not even trying to cover her bare tits with her arms. She bucked in his hand as her juices leaked to the floor, wetting her boxers. She was in a haze as she panted, shaking her head to get her hair out of the way, moaning.

“M-More…” she found herself chanting, over and over again, hoping that he would grant her wish.

And then he stopped. She opened her eyes, about to scream in frustration, when she saw his glistening fingers hovering over her chin. Behind the hand, she saw Freddie had a victorious look in his eyes, already knowing what she would do.

And she knew she would, too. Her mind was in a deep, wonderful haze that only he was able to fix. She had never been able to cum before, but now she was gushing! She felt her own girl fluids falling in rivulets down her ass crack, onto the tiled floor. She felt Freddie caressing her bare, flat stomach in anticipation, finding a way to make her giggle and shiver at once.

She had admitted to her fate a while back, but what would this do? Cement it? Would this mean that he officially dominated her? He already had, for the moment anyway. But if she licked  _her own cum_ off of his fingers, would that be public acknowledgement? And what if she didn’t? Would he stop? Would he force them into her mouth?

She found herself clenching uncomfortably, wanting him back inside of her. She didn’t want to think of the ramifications of her getting turned on by that last thought, of actually  _liking_ the possibility of domination of her, by him, but she knew that was a question that she couldn’t avoid later.

Completely resigning herself to her fate, Sam slowly opened up her mouth, just wide enough for Freddie to stick his fingers in. Freddie, already knowing she was going to, but was a bit disappointed in the seconds of hesitation, used his index to wipe a little of her cum on her lips. Sam closed her eyes with the humiliation, but didn’t bother turning away.

“Not as shiny as lip-gloss,” Freddie found himself commenting, “but definitely tastier.”

As if to prove his point, he smoothly transitioned from her shiny lips to her tongue. Sam, in a daze, didn’t comment. Moments later, she found herself sucking on the offending fingers, trying to forget what was on them. The taste wasn’t exactly unpleasing to her; if she could find the right word for it, -

“Tangy, hm?” Freddie repeated, loving the way her tongue maneuvered around his fingers. He slowly used the hand that was previously gliding across the bottom of her flat stomach, and slid his fingers further down to her glistening snatch. After a few seconds, Sam had no doubt in her mind that the boy was ambidextrous. She found herself sucking harder on his fingers, the juices long gone, just as a distraction for the freight train of a climax that he was going to give her.

Of all the things he had done to her so far, she really couldn’t know when the point of no return would start. He had already spanked her, stripped her, fingered her, made her taste herself, and above all things, made her  _enjoy_ every single deplorable act. She couldn’t even bring herself to cry at this point, her hips thrusting forward to meet his fingers as he wiggled and scissored and ground into her willing, weeping slit. She spread her legs a little wider, her knees a little higher, and if Freddie had taken off her shoes, he would see her toes curling. She kicked lightly at the ground with every thrust, her shoes scuffing the floor – another reason for the janitor to hate her, and so early into the year – She shook her head wildly, trying to get the sweat out of her eyes.

She knew what came next, pun intended, and she honestly didn’t know whether she was looking forward to it or not. She groaned as she felt her orgasm approaching. Freddie quickly removed his fingers from her mouth and began playing with her barely abused breasts again, squeezing her nipples lightly. He slowly turned his other hand in a circle, until his thumb was on her clit, and began circling it and fiddling the nerves.

Sam kicked harder, all sense of modestly gone, as she grinded herself into him with all the strength she had. Her breathing became heavier, her dirty-blonde locks skating back and forth against the tiles, her mind both dreading and anticipating that final leap into her submission.

She didn’t even notice when he plucked at the shoelace around her wrists with a single tug, unraveling the entire knot and freeing her arms.

“Open your eyes,” Freddie grunted, and she instantly acquiesced to his command. His brown eyes pierced her own deep blues, and he sneaked closer to her face. At that moment she thought he was going to kiss her. She licked her lips in anticipation, forgetting the dried cum on her lips. And then he whispered.

“Whenever I make you cum, I want you to look at me.”

She couldn’t even analyze his statement when he leaned down and kissed her. And her eyes widened as he did, not from the kiss, but the statement.

But what scared her most was that as his lips touched hers, she found herself beginning to cum. Her body churned as she thrust into his finger, struggling to keep her lips attached to his own, as her mind shut down. Her eyes wide, her lips responsive as he pressed his tongue into her mouth, unsure what to do for her first kiss, never mind her first French kiss. She felt the liquid sloshing and soaking his fingers as his hand went into overdrive, determined to never let her come down from her high. Her thrusting slowed, and she finally settled on her hips raised off the ground as high as she could, having almost no energy left. Freddie released her nipples and reached behind her head to deepen the kiss, and she reacted instinctively. Her fingers, having numbed a long time ago due to his sitting on her hands, began twitching to life, and not even aware of her own actions, she found herself wrapping both arms around his waist and pulling him closer.

It was almost a minute later until her orgasm was coming down and her legs were twitching in the aftershocks. Freddie had stopped thrusting, knowing that her pussy was sensitive, but he still kept his fingers inside her. He took his thumb off her clit and corrected his hand until it was at a more comfortable position. He was aware that Sam now knew of her free hands, but he didn’t fret much. Obviously, he was still wary, but he knew she was still out of it. So he decided to abuse that knowledge one last time.

He slowly slipped his fingers out of her well-fingered hole and brought it up to his mouth. He licked his index finger once and chanced a glance at Sam. Her eyes were closed once more, in post-orgasm bliss. He pressed both fingers on her soft lips, fully expecting her to open her eyes and grimace at him. He was pleasantly surprised when she opened her mouth wordlessly and stuck her tongue out to get a small lick at his fingers. He slowly followed her tongue into her mouth as she began suckling the tangy-sweet honey from his fingers, all without opening her eyes.

When she finally did, she looked almost confused. Freddie didn’t really want to look victorious and completely reverse everything he had done, so he gave her an expectant look. Her tongue stopped swirling around his fingers and she awkwardly unwrapped her arms around him. He took that as his cue to get up, and he slowly did, stretching a little as he did so. He looked down at Sam, who hadn’t regained full control of her body yet – Her hair wild, her eyes red, her lips puckered oh so cutely, her beautiful tits shaking as she got her breathing under control, her flat stomach rippling with each breath, her bald pussy still quivering, droplets running down her ass to the puddle on the floor, her legs shaking as she began flattening them to the ground, he guessed as she struggled to sit up – He was sure he’d probably never see such a beautiful sight again.

Especially if she killed him.

Still, he may as well go out the way he was raised – a gentleman. He leaned forward and held out his hand to her. She stopped moving her arms to try to get the feeling back, and stared at his hand blankly. For a moment, he saw himself being flung to the ground, skull-first, and then she slowly, hesitatingly, reached out and held his hand. Her look was undecipherable, and Freddie felt himself become a little bit vulnerable. Still, he gently lifted her up, and she swayed a little when she got to her feet. He put a hand on her bare hip to steady her, and she tensed. He edged his hand down until he felt the waistband of her boxers and let go of her hand to pull them up. He quickly pulled up her pants as well, and before she even knew it, he slipped her shirt back down as well. She was looking down the whole time, and she glanced up to him.

Freddie stared back, ready for any challenge. His hands were still at the bottom of her shirt, resting on her waist. She made no move to push him away. Freddie stayed like that for a moment, trying to decipher her thoughts. Then he stepped back from her, and carefully untucked his shirt. Her eyes widened at the implication, but quickly grew confused as he began mussing up his hair. Freddie dropped down and made quick work of her shoes, faster than she could imagine anyone untying a knot, and he even had the courtesy to tie her shoes for her proper. Without a word, the boy went over and picked up his long forgotten books – thankfully, far from the puddle – and strode over to her locker to pick up her books as well. She stared blankly at him as he picked up each book with care and hefted them in each arm with ease. He walked back over to her, and before she could do anything, he passed her.

Freddie was ten feet away from her when she realized she didn’t have a choice but to follow him. She frustratingly ran her hands through her hair and wiped the sweat from her forehead and the dried tears from her eyes. She knew she must look like a mess, but luckily no one paid much attention to her appearance.

It took her a second to realize that he had stopped at a restroom – the girls’ restroom. He stared expectantly at her, and she hid her face in her hair as she quickly walked in alone.

She found herself staring into the mirror. She didn’t exactly look like a mess, because she never wore makeup, but she did need to wash her face a bit. Her hair was a little wet and very tangled, but there was nothing she could do about that.

As she splashed some water into her face, half-contemplating if she should gargle some water or something, she caught a glimpse of the hair band on her wrist – A purple band Carly had given her when she was eight, that she almost never failed to wear. She slowly removed the band from her wrist and fashioned her long blonde hair into a large ponytail. Normally, she couldn’t care less about her hair, but she was a bit paranoid that everyone would know… everything, just by looking at it. She wasn’t going to let that happen.

She conveniently forgot about washing out her mouth as she stepped out of the restroom.

Freddie was leaning on the wall when she stepped out, and was surprised at the seemingly new look she took on. He smiled approvingly, and Sam swore that if her body betrayed her again and blushed, then she would at least try to follow through on breaking his arm.

“Twenty-five minutes late for class,” he murmured, and he cleared his throat, Sam paused at the slight deepness of his voice, but it was gone just as fast. “A bit over an hour left.” He finished, and she already found herself wondering if he had her in a false sense of security.

She found herself not worrying about that. What worried her was that she just might be looking forward to it.

But she still found herself looking directly at him, and cleared her throat, not trusting her voice. “Why?”

Freddie cocked his head to her. “It’s probably the same answer you would have given when you were trying to break my arm not too long ago. Felt like it.”

Sam was silent. Freddie began to worry. “Don’t tell me I’ve broken you, Puckett.”

She let out and angry huff, disappointed in herself. “You can’t break me, Benson.  _No one can_.” She felt herself again when she said that, almost believing her words.

“Is that a challenge?”

“Maybe.” It was out of her mouth before she realized what she said. Why did she even  _say_ that?

Freddie found himself smiling again, readjusting the books in his arms. Sam took a deep breath and walked past him.

“So how does it feel, hm? Knowing that I can’t go to anyone about what happened? Knowing that you could probably abuse me any time you want, because I have no one to turn to. Not even Carly can know about this, and you knew that. You took  _advantage_ of that. Of  _me_.”

Freddie glared at her and dropped her books to grab her arm. He pulled her close to him, and she didn’t fight him, but still glared right back. “Yeah, I took advantage of you, and you know what? I’m sorry. I obviously went too far, and while you were  _clearly_ into it, I’m still in the wrong.” She flinched, but said nothing. “You can tell Carly. You can tell anyone. I’ll admit to it. If you really want to, I’ll turn  _myself_ in. You know where I live, where I  _sleep_ , so if you  _really_ think you’re the victim, then  _do_ something about it.” He lifted her arm in front of her face and released it. He put his arm into her open hand. “I know you’ve thought about it. Break it. I deserve it.”

He waited a moment. He saw Sam’s eyes flicker to his arm, then back to him. She didn’t so much as squeeze his arm as she glared at him. He continued. “I took advantage of you, yeah. But do you want to know what I really took advantage of first? The fact that you  _thought_ you could take advantage of me.” He gingerly removed his arm from her hand. “But I’ll make it up to you. Next time, we’ll just be taking advantage of each other.”

A shock went through her as her eyes stared at him in disbelief. Freddie smiled wide as he picked back up her books and walked past her again. It was twenty feet before she began following him this time.

“What the hell is wrong with me,” She found herself mumbling, not really asking.

“Maybe you’re falling for me?” He asked with a completely curious tone, but the cheeky grin ruined it.

She tightened her fists, but restrained herself from punching him. That was a first. “Doubt it, Benson.”

“Good. You had me worried there.” He grinned. “Though the fact that you’re actually calling me by my name makes you think.”

She crossed her arms as she walked. “What? You miss the pet names?”

“Only if you miss the spankings.”

She stopped walking. “You wouldn’t dare,  _ nub_.”

He swiftly turned around and raised an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t?” He stepped forward.

She gulped unnoticeably. If Freddie wasn’t looking for it, he might’ve missed it. “You wouldn’t.”

“After what we’ve been through, you think I wouldn’t?” He stepped a little closer.

“No chance in hell,” she fired back, starting to feel as strong as her words.

“Bad word,” he said absently, readjusting the books in his grip again.

“Go  _fuck_ yourself,” she muttered, grinning evilly at him.

“Can’t do that,” Freddie muttered, stopping right in front of her. “If I learned how to do that, wouldn’t have the time to do this.” He found himself leaning down and catching her lips with his own, and only a second later, she responded with fervor. Her hands slowly went up and on his shoulders, and he thought she was going to push him away, but she found herself gripping tighter.

This kiss certainly wasn’t as deep as the last, and only lasted 20 seconds. But when she released his shoulders and he parted from her, he had the feeling that this kiss impacted her the most.

Wordlessly, he turned around and walked forward to class, determined to actually get there this time. Sam was quick to follow this time.

She honestly didn’t know what the hell to do with this, or how to handle it, or how sick she was for even  _considering_ liking it, but, for some reason, she just knew she would just regret it if she chose the opposite of whatever ‘this’ is.

She still felt like she had to say something. “I’m not your girlfriend, Benson.”

He smirked. “I know. I just asked your best friend out half an hour ago. I might try again next week.”

Her blood ran cold. “W-What?”

He was still smirking as they almost reached the class. “I know it’s going to take some time, but soon you’ll realize that you’re my girlfriend as much as she will be. And if you really want to stop me… well, you know where I live.”

They had stepped into the classroom; Mr. Howard was busy writing on the board, not paying attention. Over half the class looked up to see Freddie and Sam; Freddie holding her books and grinning, Sam wearing a ponytail, with a shell-shocked look on her features. They quickly spotted Carly, who had saved both of them a seat, one on each side. She looked very confused at Sam’s new hairstyle, and a little relieved that they had finally appeared in class. Freddie nodded gratefully to her and placed Sam’s books on her side of the table, and quickly found his way into his own seat. He rolled up his sleeves, took a quick glance at Carly’s notes, and proceeded to write his own summarized notes on what was talked about this class.

Fortunately, he had already read the chapter.

Carly glanced over at Freddie as Sam took her seat. He didn’t seem to be crushed by her rejection, even though he seemed to have had a slight obsession with her before. She took the chance to  _really_ look at him. His rolled up sleeves showed some toned muscle that really shouldn’t have been on a boy his age, his hair was cutely mussed, something that she was pretty sure was new…

Perhaps when his obsession with her was completely over, or maybe lessened considerably, she would give him a chance.

She turned back to her best friend. She first noticed the band in her hair, the band that she had gotten her, and smiled a little. She wanted to know what was up, so she grabbed a blank sheet of paper, scooting her notes over to Freddie’s side, who was grateful for it, and began writing.

_Why were u n Freddie so late?_

She silently passed the paper to Sam, who was staring off with a look of – confusion? Mysticism? – and quickly focused on the note. She read the note, for longer than Carly thought necessary, and held out her hand to her. Carly, used to the exchange, handed her a pen. Sam quickly wrote a note and handed it back.

_Stuff._

_What kinda stuff?_

_You know, things._

_Like?_

_You._

_Me?_

_Yep._

_Elaborate!_

_He was asking why I hated him, and I couldn’t give him an answer. I’ll be honest; he’s a pretty cool dork – for a dork._

_OMG! did u 2 actually bond?_

Sam seemed to consider the question. She finally wrote down a reply.

_Yep._

_So how did it get 2 me?_

_I gave him advice on what you like in a dude._

_And? What did u tell him?_

_I told him you were pretty shallow, and not to even bother._

She wrote that part with a huge grin. Carly gaped at her. Sam toned down her smirk and continued writing.

 _ Spencer said you’re too young to date right now, but I’ve seen all the guys you’ve crushed on – male models. No matter the personality, they have to be ‘hunky’ as you put it. _ :-P 

_U mock my txtspk, yet u write out emotes._

:-D

_Who doesn’t like male models! They’re hunky dreamy!_

_Sure. But that’s your only qualification for a good boyfriend._

_What else matters?_

_Srsly?_

_No, not really. Funny, smart, friendly, companionable, all that._

_Don’t forget balls._

_SAM!_

_You know what I mean. Guts. Courage. I actually look for all of that in a dude. You write out your name with their last name before you can even get to personality._

_Well, I can’t date them!_

_ But you can still get to  know them, right?_

Carly stared at the paper, for a good, long moment. Sam began to get worried, until Carly began writing again.

_Did you get to know Freddie?_

_Well, we were gone for 30 minutes, so I guess a conversation had to have taken place._

_Stop the sarcasm._

_Stop the dumb questions. _ :-P 

Carly flipped over the paper for more space, and without writing a word, passed it back to Sam. She sighed.

_Yeah. We talked. Like I said. Cool dork._

_Cool enough 2 date?_

_If you can look past the dork part, go right ahead._

_I meant 4 u._

She read that note  _way_ too long for just two letters, a word, and a number, so she was prepared to not take Sam’s next words at face value. So she was fairly surprised at what Sam wrote next.

_Don’t know the dude that well. He pisses me off, I don’t deny that, but he showed me a side I never knew he had. But, like I said, I can’t look past the dork part._

_Ur loss?_

_Probably. Your win _ :-P

_Probably._

_Not ‘probably’. I was just kidding earlier. I told him to ask you out again soon._

_U did? What’s the point of that? I’m not allowed 2 date._

_You can still watch movies on the couch. Just don’t be mad when I’m at your place. Date or no date, mama likes a nice HDTV and a fridge._

_Then you’ll be on the date with us._

_ Then we’ll share him. You keep him distracted  _ ;-) _ while I eat his food. All I need is a good night kiss with some ham. _

_You know what? Fine._

As she slid the paper over, she turned to Freddie, who had by now completely caught up with the class. “Freddie?” she whispered.

“Hm?” He asked, mostly focused on the teacher. It was then that she noticed – no sick puppy dog act. She almost found herself missing it. Almost.

“Busy Friday night?”

He glanced over to her. “Don’t think so. What’s up?”

“Movie Night at my place?”

“Crappy rom-com or B horror film?”

“Both?”

“I’ll be there. Six o’ clock?”

“It’s a date!” She smiled.

Freddie raised an eyebrow. “Bad choice of words?”

“Nope.”

“…Huh.” He smiled and turned back to his work.

Carly turned towards a grinning Sam. She held the paper up.

_Mrs. Carly Benson?_

She snatched the paper from her, and sneaked a glance back at Freddie; he was paying attention to the teacher. She covered her hand over the paper as she wrote.

_Jealous?_

_Nah. I’d be Puckett-Benson, anyway._

She had to blink at the message a few times, making sure what she was reading was right. She looked up to see Sam laughing into her hand.

_Funny._

_ I know. _ :-D

Soon enough, class ended, and Mr. Howard never noticed Sam and Freddie entering class late. All three friends had different classes next.

As Sam set her books down on the table in front of her in class, she saw the paper they had used as the note sheet. She was about to ball it up and put it in her pocket when she saw a message written in the end in red ink, and completely unfamiliar handwriting:

 _ I’ll have to get you back for that, Mrs. Puckett-Benson.  
_ \-  _ Cool Dork._

She stared at the note for a long time. She licked her lips nervously.

She didn’t know what part she liked more – his name, her name, or the promise of… more.

_It’s a date._


	2. Admission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, big deal. Sam Puckett had found the one guy in the world that could not only compete with her, but dominate. Was she going to take it lying down? Yes. But standing up, is a different story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: In case you haven’t noticed, this is a bit of an AU story. I laid the foundation for some of it in the first chapter. There were reasons I did it that way, and not for the obvious ones. I won’t be insulted if you don’t like the changes, but please express that and state why.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> * – Seven Years? I’m aware they met four years ago around this time, but in this world, it was when they were five. Just roll with it. Exposition, exposition!

 

Sam blew a strand of hair away from her face. On second thought, maybe she _should_ have stayed with the ponytail.

“Do you have to look bored _all_ the time, Sam?”

She looked up to see Carly, smiling at her, offering her a big bowl of popcorn.

“Not when I’m eating,” she said happily, eagerly grabbing a handful.

Carly smiled at her best friend of seven years *****. “I’ve noticed. So, what do you want to watch today? Should be a new episode of _Drew and Jerry_ tonight, right?”

Sam hummed to herself while she popped a kernel into her mouth. “No, I think that’s Saturday. Nothing new airs on Thursdays.”

Carly was already turning on the television. “The Guide says they’re airing a _Girly Cow_ marathon tonight.”

Sam barked a laugh. “Aren’t they only halfway through the first season?”

“When a show is good, it’s good.” She paused. “Okay, not very good, but okay, I guess.”

Sam had already finished the last of the popcorn in her hand. “Please, Carly, _we_ could make a better show than that.”

Carly chuckled to herself. The two sat in silence, reaching for their popcorn. Sam enjoyed the silence. It allowed her to think.

She had been doing that much too often lately, and she didn’t like it. She thought in her daydreams, she thought in her sleep, she even thought when she ate. Even the popcorn couldn’t distract her.

All of her thoughts had led towards Freddie Benson and what happened two days ago, and she couldn’t be more agitated.

Yes, she admitted it; she liked it. More than liked it, really. If she didn’t have any semblance of pride left, she’d go back to him and _demand_ more. She still felt his fingers on her, _in_ her, and as she trembled under her own fingers the previous two nights, he was the only face she could envision. The first night, she was too pissed off to even try a second time, knowing that as he had told her, that whenever she came, he wanted her to look at him. That he had that much power over her was near-devastating. The fact that she was picking up masturbating again the same day he had her on the ground was a mere coincidence.

Yesterday, the day after he had touched her, was a complete mystery to her. Carly had taken Sam’s words to heart, and during the breaks, she had tried to get to know Freddie. Sometimes, in the past, Freddie seemed to have been blinded by Carly. Sure, he was able to hold a decent conversation with her, but there was an underlying crush that was so obvious, and sometimes beyond frustrating, if not hilarious. Sometimes he would stammer, he would turn away and murmur things, and one time he had ran away to his apartment room when Carly had taken a piece of Hershey’s Chocolate out of the fridge and asked if he wanted a kiss.

How the hell did _that guy_ end up giving her the best time she’s ever had during learning hours?

But that following day, was quite clearly a new Freddie. His shirt was no longer tucked – in fact, it didn’t even have buttons, something she had never seen on him before. His hair was no longer straightened and pressed to the stitch – it had been combed, but not excessively.

But his new fashion had nothing on his very different personality. While it was clear the boy had low self-esteem before, there was no hint of it when they ran into each other at the lockers. Carly and he talked normally, and he was definitely wittier than she remembered. His charm was what stunned her the most. Carly couldn’t stop laughing with him as they talked about nonsensical things, and while she had zoned in and out, sometimes Sam was caught chuckling to herself.

Then they had involved her into the conversation. Carly was talking about TV Shows that sucked, and how she wished that there were such things as good television anymore. Freddie commented that while Splashface had some mildly interesting videos, most of them were so poorly produced and horribly executed, that sometimes it was painful to watch, even when there was good content in the actual video. Sam shrugged and said that it wasn’t like he could do any better. Instead of an indignant cry and a proclamation of how mean she was, he had chuckled and agreed, stating that he didn’t even have a camera. Carly raised an eyebrow, but didn’t comment. After a few seconds of consideration, Sam slowly admitted that none of them could do any better – after all, they were just kids.

Carly certainly looked surprised at Sam’s words, as that had almost seemed like a compliment in her eyes. When Freddie replied that with the right equipment, kids can be better than adults at some things, Sam found herself blushing. When Carly agreed, Sam had to hide her face in the locker, pretending to look for her leftover ham.

The entire conversation snowballed from there. Even Sam had to admit that they all had some very good ideas, ideas that she wouldn’t mind watching on TV or online. Some were funny simply because of its absurdity (Really? A bra that told scary stories? Risqué, but undeniably funny). Some were very original, and she couldn’t contain her excitement on one day seeing that vision coming true. It’s not like she had anything else to do.

It was a surreal experience, talking to someone you had bullied two days previous, who had _dominated_ you the very next day. And she was laughing with him. She was actually _enjoying_ his company. She hated it.

They spent all of the breaks like that the next day, and as they were walking home from school. Freddie and Carly walked together while Sam leaned back, studying Freddie, until he unexpectedly grabbed her hand and pulled her up next to his other side. Carly didn’t notice, she was too engrossed in thinking about another idea for their imaginary show. He let go before she could notice, and before Sam could protest. Sam glared at him, and he smiled.

That night, she came three times. And she couldn’t get him out of her head, no matter how hard she tried. Did she want to try? Was she doomed to have him in her head for the rest of her hormonal life? Those thoughts scared her. She didn’t want to confront them.

 _This_ morning, however, was different. Carly approached the topic first, asking about their date that Friday. She had wondered what movies he liked.

It truly terrified Sam that every movie he had said he liked, were in her top favorite movies of all time.

 _The Scissoring_? Of _course_ she loved that movie! It had revenge, murder, and mayhem – with _scissors_! No one she knew had even heard of that movie before, and he mentioned it _first_!

She hated him.

When Carly blanched at his choice of movies, Freddie smartly backpedalled, and suggested that they could watch a B-horror movie that she hadn’t heard of before, that was more _shock_ than gore.

She hated him for that, too. She knew _every_ horror movie, _ever_. He had to have gotten the title wrong or something. Dreadful Daydream: Part 5? What the hell happened to the other four?

Carly said that she had a thing, a quirk really, where she couldn’t see the sequels before she saw the first movie. When Freddie suggested that they had a movie marathon, she smiled so brightly that Sam had to wonder to herself who had the obsession to begin with, and agreed.

She paused and looked over to Sam. She hesitantly told Freddie that Sam had wanted to join them. Sam raised an eyebrow. Was Carly asking for _permission_?

Freddie shrugged and promised that he’d bring enough food for everyone, and Sam could have fainted if it wasn’t such a pussy thing to do.

She hated him. She hated him so much, and she hugged him before they all left for class. When Freddie offered a hug to Carly as well, she blushed and leaned into the hug.

“So,” Carly cut through her thoughts, “Wanna go to the Groovy Smoothie? Spencer left me some cash, and while it’s not enough for clothes, it’s enough for two Jumbo Blueberry Banana Blitz smoothies.”

Sam blinked. They were out of popcorn, and the episode of Girly Cow had already ended.

“Uhh, no thanks, Carls, I’d rather stay here. I think I need actual food right now. Besides, might as well finish the marathon, right?”

Carly laughed. “Suit yourself, but if you want one, you know where I’ll be.”

Sam waved as Carly left. Honestly, she just didn’t feel like getting up. It had nothing to do with Freddie, right now she just felt lazy.

Girly Cow was an interesting show to her. Enjoyable, sure, but she occasionally pointed out things that they could have done better, tweaked jokes that, in her opinion, were funnier. She kept doing this until the doorbell rang.

After a few seconds, Sam realized that Spencer wasn’t home, and slowly got up. “I’m coming,” she yelled, and when her hand touched the knob, she stopped.

Could it have been Freddie? What were the chances of the person being Freddie? Carly had left ten minutes ago. It could have been Spencer, or Carly forgot something. If Freddie was peeking through the peephole – something he had not snooped down to yet, even when he was considered creepy in her eyes – he would have come over by now.

She couldn’t look through the peephole, as it was a few inches higher than her head. Before the person behind the door could get antsy and ring it again, she took a gamble and opened the door.

She gasped.

“Sam! My, have you grown! How have you been?” Maria exclaimed, rushing to hug the young blonde.

Sam gave a squeal of discomfort. “I’m doing good, mom. I thought you were going to be gone for a few more days!”

“Why? Are there any boys here?” She smirked, looking down at her surrogate daughter.

Sam shook her head. “Not today, no. It’s nice to see you back.”

Maria nodded. “It’s good to be back. Where’s Carly? Thought she would have come down by now.”

“She went down to the Groovy Smoothie,” she informed her, letting go of the hug.

“By herself?” She muttered, a concerned frown on her beautiful features. “Well, since it’s right down the street, I suppose it’s okay. But don’t you two make a habit out of it; I don’t want one of you out without the other.”

Sam nodded. She didn’t feel the need to mention that they had always done it before, but now that she was back in town, it was time to go back to the routine.

“Well? Aren’t you going to let me in to my own home?” She laughed.

Sam blushed. “You don’t need me to invite you,” she joked, as she allowed Mrs. Maria Shay into the apartment.

“True,” she sighed, “but sometimes I like to trick myself into thinking that your manners have improved.” She looked around. “Where’s Spencer?”

Sam shrugged. “He didn’t answer the door, so I guess he isn’t here.”

“I saw him an hour ago,” a very familiar voice sounded from the doorway. Sam’s stomach lurched in a painfully pleasant way as she turned back to the door to see Freddie Benson. “He was talking to a guy in the hall about a concert they were going to. They were wearing really weird socks…”

“Socko,” Maria deadpanned, before she brightened. “Hello, young man. Would you happen to be Freddie by any chance?”

“Yes ma’am,” he smiled. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Shay.”

“It’s especially nice to meet _you_. Carly has told me a bit about you.”

Freddie chuckled. “Uh-oh.”

Maria laughed as she stepped forward and shook his hand. “They were all good, I assure you, Freddie.” She led him inside the apartment, and Sam closed the door. “And I don’t think she would appreciate it if my first actions of coming back are to leave you out in the hallway.”

“I won’t tell her if you did,” Freddie promised.

“And that’s why we’re going to get along just great,” she smiled, setting down her briefcase next to the sofa. “Apparently, Carly’s at the Groovy Smoothie, but you’re welcome to wait here until she returns. The kitchen’s here if you need anything to eat or drink.”

The next few awkward seconds, Sam wasn’t exactly sure if she was in hell or not – she honestly couldn’t decide yet. Maria had gone into the kitchen to microwave some noodles, which left Freddie and Sam to talk. As Mrs. Shay was right in the next room, she didn’t know what to say. If she _wasn’t_ right there, Sam probably still wouldn’t have known what to say.

He glanced over at the High Definition Television. “ _Girly Cow_? I’m more of a _Nym Probable_ kind of guy.”

Sam scoffed. “A middle school cheerleader that saves the world part-time with a goofy, bumbling, sidekick of a best friend? What’s her name again?”

“Lin Evitable,” he answered instantly. “And you got to love it when she bumbles. She helps get the job done.”

“More like Lin Competent,” Sam muttered, and Freddie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Seriously, in real life, no one would choose a partner like her. She’d be completely useless, and probably dead by the second mission.”

“You could say the same about the villains. They never use guns, they announce their plans from the beginning, and no villain lair would be complete without a self-destruct button.”

“They do put a lot of defenses around that button, though,” she countered, half-smiling. “Not their fault that their pet lemur gets through it easily enough.”

* * *

Carly slurped at her smoothie demurely, staring up at the small television in the corner of the Groovy Smoothie, but not really watching it. She found herself thinking about Sam and Freddie.

One of the most profound and meaningful conversations she had ever had with her best friend was written on a sheet of paper in the middle of class. It was crazy, really. One part of her wanted to frame the paper, analyze it and keep it locked to memory. Another wanted to burn it.

Sam had written some mean and hurtful things to her, and she shamefully agreed.

Except about the ‘shallow’ part. Carly Shay was _not_ shallow. But she could admit that she had a certain demographic of guys that she usually envisioned herself with, and if a guy didn’t fit the description, then she would never have bothered thinking about them.

What Sam had said was right, unfortunately. She needed to expand her horizons. And she was going to start doing that – with Freddie.

What had started as an experiment was turning into something much more. Freddie was a very cool guy, with a very great sense of humor. He was completely different now that she had gotten to know him. Granted, she had only gotten to know this new, improved version of Freddie for about two days, but she had loved their interactions so far. If she was honest, she enjoyed Freddie’s company since day one. She really couldn’t wait for their date in two days.

Well, it wasn’t a date. Sam was going to be there.

That brought her back to the note, again. What did Sam mean by _distracting_ him? And what was with the wink emoticon?

She was absorbed in her thoughts as she finished her smoothie. She went to the register and asked T-Bo for another smoothie for Sam, and after some thought, one for Freddie as well. It was the least she could do, after Freddie made the promise to bring food for their movie marathon. He had seen Sam ‘in action’, and still made the promise – it was one of the bravest things she had ever seen. She still remembered the shock on his face when Sam had hugged him.

Still, she had no intentions of ‘distracting’ him, whatever that meant, while Sam gorged away as they watched the movies. She had never heard Sam imply anything like that before. But then again, a lot has changed about Sam recently.

She walked out the door, thankful that the large cups were Styrofoam – much easier to hold the cold frosty liquid for her dainty hands. There was another reason that she wanted to keep that paper, to transcribe, to figure out what had happened and when it happened; Sam had changed. And she wasn’t sure it was for the better or worse.

She had noticed that Sam was the nicest that she had ever been – exclusively towards Freddie. Their circle of friends were small, so she didn’t know if it was just to Freddie, or everyone in general, but she hadn’t tortured, tackled, or even viciously insulted Freddie since that day that she tackled him. Since the day that they had stayed behind and talked for thirty minutes. Since the day that a more confident Freddie joined Carly at the table, and a Sam with a ponytail and an utterly mystified expression sat on her left.

She was pretty sure that whatever happened, Sam would give her the full story when she was ready. She hoped.

What happened between those two? And why was Sam _nicer_ because of it? Had she truly considered Freddie as a friend? Sam had given Carly an honest enough answer to believe that she didn’t have a crush on him.

She tilted her head. That would be strange, those two together. They were practically polar opposites. She just couldn’t see it happening. While opposites do attract, there was just nothing there that she could see. But if there was an attraction…

Carly sighed. She would cross that bridge when she got to it. Hopefully, she’d never get to it.

She found herself quite fond of Freddie. Sam had seen something in him first, and had convinced Carly to give him a chance. Maybe she thought of Freddie as a brother?

Maybe. She wasn’t completely sure.

But one day, she’d find out. Carly Shay was stubborn that way.

* * *

Maria Shay smiled at the banter between the two kids. She had never seen Sam this outgoing with anyone other than Carly, and wondered about the new kid. What made him so special? Because he was Carly’s crush?

She frowned slightly. She hadn’t yet allowed her daughter to date, and Carly seemed to still be okay with that rule. She had seen Carly’s past crushes. They were either stupid kids that found their daddy’s steroid pills, or boys who try to trick out their bikes to make them look like motorcycles.

But Freddie looked like a very decent guy. He didn’t look prim and proper and Steve Urkle-ey, but he also didn’t look like… well, a tool. He was smart, and according to their laughs, funny, and the boy was pretty cute to boot, with a charming smile.

He would be quite the catch one day, and she had to praise her daughter for seeing it early – earlier than Maria wanted, but early nonetheless. As long as Carly kept this streak going when it came to boys, actual _dating_ material, then she’d happily lift the ban.

“So what are you going to bring for Movie night?” Maria overheard. “Bacon, chocolate, nachos, what?”

“It’s a surprise,” Freddie replied, sitting on the other end of the sofa from her. Maria chuckled; Sam had quite clearly marked her territory on the couch, kicking up her legs and taking two of the three cushions, as she leaned back on the arm.

“Mama doesn’t like surprises,” she replied, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

“Then I guess mama doesn’t want to eat the goodies I’m going to bring.”

“Oh, I’ll eat it. I just don’t want it to be a surprise when I do. I like fatcakes, by the way.”

Freddie chuckled. “Those things? Good. They’re not that hard to make.”

The room was silent for almost a full minute. Maria had already turned her back to her noodles, and she wasn’t sure if Sam was just in shock or if she had fainted.

“What?”

“The bread’s pretty easy to deep-fry, and the frosting is very easy. I don’t eat much of it, but yeah, it’s a very tasty way to get fat.”

The room was quiet.

“I guess I ruined one of your surprises, huh?”

Sam sputtered for a moment. “No – you’re full of surprises, Benson.”

Mrs. Shay struggled not to laugh. Honestly, she was worried that Sam knew that their new friend could cook; she would never leave him alone. She would rather stock the fridge daily than let that happen. She didn’t want Sam to make him her slave.

“Besides,” Freddie said, “I owe you, anyway. It’s the least I could do.”

“Got that right,” Sam muttered. “Wait, what?”

“You set me up with Carly,” he reminded her. Maria raised an eyebrow. Set up? As in, for a date? Damn, Carly worked fast. Or was it Sam that worked fast for Carly?

“Oh,” Sam said slowly. “Well, it’s not a date. It’s a movie marathon between three friends. You two just ignore me, while I have some home-made fat-cakes to enjoy. If you give me enough, you won’t even see me that night.”

Sam could say it if she wanted, but Maria knew that this was Carly’s first date, and she would treat it as such. Though she briefly wondered why Sam would want to be there – Really, sometimes she wondered why Sam wasn’t at her home most times she didn’t see the girl – she hoped she could get the girl to take pictures.

“I’m not sure if that’s bribery or you being nice, but you don’t have to go. You’re great company,” Freddie said sincerely.

The room was silent, once again.

* * *

Sam froze. She looked over to Freddie, her mind reeling with thoughts. ‘ _Only when I’m on my back_ ‘, was what she wanted to say, but when she saw the serious look in his eyes, she was more confused than ever. He _meant_ it? “Uh… thanks. But why do you say that?”

She wanted to hear this. She wanted to see him try to think of an excuse, in front of Carly’s mother and herself, why she was ‘great company’. She expected him to stammer out a few lies that Mrs. Shay would instantly pick up. Then she’d undoubtedly keep a closer eye on Freddie.

“You’re smart, for one,” Freddie muttered, smirking at her. She felt uneasy; he had clearly picked apart her thought process when she asked that question. “Now that my life isn’t in danger anymore every time I talk to you, you can actually pretend to be a good friend.”

“Don’t push it,” she said before she could stop herself. But, in her defense, she really didn’t want to.

She was aware of all she had been doing – this silent understanding that they had. She had attacked him so much in the past month since she had known him, and in one swoop, he had exacted revenge and then some. It was a war that he had won, and while it was hard to accept, she forced herself to admit it.

But he had _no_ right to call her his _friend_. She wasn’t going to stoop that low.

And then Freddie smiled.

“Pushing it is what I do best, Sam.” His fingers ghosted over her bare feet, stroking the arch, and she squealed at the shock that went through her, pulling her legs back to her.

She glared at him. He smirked back.

“Ticklish, huh? Interesting.”

Maria chuckled to herself as she went up the stairs behind them. “Don’t hurt him, Sam,” she warned the blonde as she disappeared into the second floor – most likely to her room.

Freddie chuckled. “You tried that already,” he whispered when he heard the door click.

Sam glared at him. This was the first time she had ever been left _completely_ alone with him. She had never really considered what she was going to do when she finally had the chance.

She wasn’t going to admit it – she would _never_ admit it – but she respected the hell out of Freddie. It was an extremely begrudging respect, but he earned it nevertheless. She hated him, yes. That would probably never change. But deep inside her, she had to admit that he surprised her. He had shown her a side of him that she never knew he had. He was vicious, relentless, and he handled her like no one ever did and would again. For one, fleeting moment, she was _his_.

Once again; she would _never_ admit this.

She tested the waters. “So… raped any chicks lately?”

Sam didn’t exactly pride herself on subtlety. She just never saw the point in it.

She expected him to be mad. She half-expected him to glare at her and try to attack her. A small part of her wanted him to break down and cry, finally seeing the gravity of what he did, and ask to be beaten.

Instead, he chuckled. That seemed to be a common reaction from him. She must have been _really_ funny. “Not lately, no. Don’t plan on it anytime soon. Tried making anyone’s life a living hell lately?”

Her left eye twitched. “I know a friend who has. He’s a real dick.”

Freddie smiled. “Oh, so I _am_ your friend.”

Her foot lashed out, and he only grunted as she kicked him with her bare sole. Before she could pull back, he caught her foot in an iron grip. She tried to rattle her way out, and he leaned on her leg, ensuring that she’d have to drag him with it. “Well, _that_ hurt.”

“It was supposed to,” she growled, her leg twitching from him occasionally pinching her. She moved her other leg to kick him in the head. She succeeded as she smacked against his ear, and he released her foot. She retracted and stood up, her fists clenched.

And then she fell over, her leg gone limp, her head smacking loudly against the table.

“Sam? Freddie?”

“Sorry, Mrs. Shay! My knee hit the table! I’m okay!”

“No problem, Freddie! As long as you’re not hurt!”

“Hurts like hell,” Freddie muttered to himself, rubbing his side. He stared at her prone form for a minute.

“But worth it.”

* * *

Freddie looked both ways before crossing the hallway to his apartment, Sam hoisted on his shoulders. He smiled at how light she was – for such a strong, domineering girl, he had to remind himself sometimes that she was still a lithe, small, pretty girl.

Of course, he knew that – it was burned into his memory just how feminine she really was.

He quickly got into apartment 8D, knowing his mother was still at work, and went to his room.

* * *

Carly, after a few seconds of staring back and forth between the smoothies and the door to her apartment, slowly brought her cheek to the knob of the door. After a few attempts, she finally got the knob to actually start turning. After realizing that the knob wasn’t going to open unless it was turned a full 360 degrees, and her head just wasn’t made to work like that, she began to put the cups on the ground when she heard a familiar voice.

“Need help, Carly?”

She quickly spun around and blushed. She really hoped he didn’t see that. “Oh – hey, Freddie!” she smiled.

Freddie chuckled as he reached around her to open the door. She almost shuddered at his hot breath on her neck, but before she could truly enjoy it, he had already stepped back, the door now wide open.

She smiled nervously. “Thanks.” She raised a smoothie. “Peace-offering?”

Freddie cocked his head. “I didn’t know we were at war. What kind is it?”

“Blueberry Banana Blitz,” she said easily, having picked the same flavor for both smoothies. It was her favorite flavor.

“My favorite,” he smiled, taking the offered cup. “Oh, Sam left, by the way.”

Carly raised a delicate eyebrow. “What? Why?”

Freddie shrugged. “She said something about not getting in the way of the reunion.”

Carly was even more confused, and it showed. Freddie nodded his head at the door behind her.

“I think she’s in her room. Thanks for the smoothie.” And before she could fully process his words, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. It was quick – so quick that she could have believed that it was a dream – but none of her dreams made her face burn to such a degree. Freddie leaned back and smiled shyly at her.

“Yeah… y-you’re welcome,” she stammered, and he smiled brighter. And Freddie had never looked so good to her. He turned and went back into his apartment, the door making a soft click as it closed.

She just stared at the entrance to his apartment. She had only known Freddie a few weeks, and he was a riddle, for sure. And while she had liked his company before his change, now there was just something about him that made her…need him. How did he manage to catch her so… vulnerable?

She shook her head. What was he saying about Sam? Someone was in their room?

Her eyes widened, and with a squeal, she rushed into her apartment.

* * *

Freddie had no idea what love was. He had, of course, heard of the concept, but it was a completely foreign idea.

Did he love Carly? It was way too early to tell. There was a time when he had a best friend, that he thought he loved, and he felt something close to that with Carly now. He never gave up on the girl he once loved – in fact, he had sent a text to her the day he was on the plane, on the way to Seattle, about his feelings.

She never replied, and he was crushed.

He had admitted that he was a bit of a pushover. But he thought that they had at least liked each other to a point where they could be honest with each other - at least she never pushed him around. He could have sworn that he saw her crying as he was on the plane – her hand pressed against the window, her other hand waving somberly, her cheeks flushed -

And that was the moment that he could pinpoint what that probably was. Love? Some could have considered them the best of friends. They had known each other since kindergarten. They were inseparable.

Keyword – _were_. She certainly knew how to get over him quickly. He knew the slightly gothic beauty wanted to one day be an actress, but – there was no doubt in his mind that those years he had known her were genuine. He had thought that maybe she liked him? She showed no interest in other boys when he was around.

Maybe she did like him? He had tried calling her since – it was disconnected. That was his only hope – that she had lost her phone, and never got the text. Only problem was that he had no way of contacting her.

Whatever. Maybe she didn’t care. Maybe she did? Did it really matter? Whatever Freddie Benson felt for Jade West was in the past. His present was Sam, and his future was Carly. And Sam. She would learn.

Freddie Benson was _not_ a pushover. Not anymore.

He opened the door to his room and stared at a sleeping Sam on his bed. After a few minutes, silently weighing his options, he left her.

* * *

Jade sprinted straight to her room, threw her Hollywood Arts book bag down, and turned on her computer. She tapped her feet impatiently, reminding herself to get a faster computer. With the monthly checks from her estranged father, she could certainly afford better.

And as she pulled up her Splashface account and found her contacts, she grit her teeth.

Freddie Benson hadn’t logged in since he had left. He probably hadn’t gotten internet yet. Completely understandable, it’s only been almost four weeks. That didn’t make her any less pissed at herself.

It was some sick, sadistic twist of fate that still had her head churning. She was thumbing out her first message to Freddie on her TekMate, when she stumbled, and it fell into the decorative fountain at the airport. The tears that had been shed when Freddie had left her, multiplied when she fished out the dead phone.

It took everything in her power to not jump on the next flight. Her mom wasn’t with her at the airport; she could have left the house for a few days. It would have been so much easier, in hindsight. But no, she restrained herself.

She checked the corner of her screen. Thursday. She could have waited another day, if she didn’t already wait four weeks.

She went to the airline travel site and grinned at the next available flight. Three hours.

She could skip school for a day. Jade was on her way to Seattle.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Notes: Dan Schneider is the God of my childhood. I’ve watched everything he has ever produced (including Good Burger, and yes, I’ve always thought it was hilarious.), and every episode of it, minus two things – What I Like About You, and Victorious. I was too young to watch and/or care about the WB teen drama sitcom, and while Victorious looked very funny, it just didn’t seem like it was for me.
> 
> So as I was watching the latest episode of Sam and Cat, and enjoying every single moment, I decided – not only am I going to watch it all, I’m going to write about it all as well.
> 
> So this is a Schneiderverse story. We may see a bit of Amanda, or Megan Parker (?!), some pre-mommy Zoey, Nicole, Dana and Quinn, and of course, the beautiful, talented, Victorious Girls.
> 
> This may crash and burn at some point. But it sure as hell will be a fun ride!
> 
> I originally wanted to incorporate Freddie in each world, seducing each and every main girl in the Schneiderverse, and making them all separate one-shots, and get to Carly in the future, but I find myself rather attached to Sam, not only because Sam and Cat is hilarious (minus the tuna jump episode, which just hurts me deeply), but I consider Freddie and Sam one of the strongest relationships Schneider has ever made (much better than Logan/Quinn). The only reason I think Creddie is sometimes better is because a physically abusive relationship (Seddie) is slightly worse than a verbally abusive relationship (Creddie). Wow, does Carly need a lot of favors and wow, does she date a lot of guys and wow, does she never give him a chance! Credit where credit is due – the few instances where I saw Creddie, including the extended scenes, were beautiful moments. The Seddie episodes had those moments too, if you've officially set the idea in your mind that Freddie is far too nice for his own goddamn good.
> 
> Keeping in mind it’s a comedy show. A lot of fans, for some reason, want to see Freddie suffer. But as Schneider should be realizing by now, Sam hurting other people in Sam & Cat is much funnier.
> 
> Maybe one day I’ll write a story where Freddie snaps late in the iCarly timeline, rather than the very beginning of the story.
> 
> Notes 2: TekMate – those seriously need to come back. Even in a world where physical buttons is almost unappealing, those things were the coolest I’ve seen at the time. And it looks more practical than a pearPhone. And it’s a less silly name. In this instance, it’s more than a text device; it’s a phone as well. Obviously, not a waterproof phone.
> 
> Notes 3: I will write less notes as I go on. I have a blog for a reason; I really need to use it more.


	3. Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He thought that with Carly, he could find love. He thought that with Sam, he could find love. But he couldn't find what he already had. She thought it best to remind him. Everything just got escalated.

**_Please note:_ ** _Jade has black hair in this story, instead of really dark brown. Not a big thing, but I always felt that it fit her character more._

* * *

“So. Seattle.”

“Yep.”

Jade sighed heavily to herself. “Three days. I called it.”

Freddie, though how dark the situation was, chuckled. “Yes, you did.”

“This… sucks.”

“I’ll come back. Soon.”

“It still sucks.”

The girl with green tips closed her eyes, her passive expression more firm than ever. She winced at the soft lips that touched her forehead for a small second. Normally, she wasn’t much of a fan of public displays of affection, but… she allowed it this time.

Hell, if she ever got the chance again…

She opened her eyes and locked on to Freddie’s curious brown ones. A smirk flitted across her face.

He raised his eyebrows. “What’s up?”

“I like that you’re nervous whenever I smile.” Her smirk grew.

“Not usually. I guess I’ve developed a sixth sense around you.”

Jade chuckled, and reached up to touch his jawline, before gripping his shoulder. She pulled up and pressed her lips to his.

The position was uncomfortable at best, so she held on as long as she could before falling back, her head moving back to his chest.

She didn’t catch Freddie’s pleased smile, closing her eyes in embarrassment.

“Th… that was…”

“Me, too.”

Freddie sat back against the tree and wrapped his hands around his best friend. The ebony-haired girl brought her hands up and wrapped her arms to herself, covering his. He smiled at her possessiveness. Though, technically, they didn’t own each other – not officially.

He wiggled his toes a little, to keep the circulation in his legs – they had been sitting together like this for at least twenty minutes – and reflected on the past three days.

He and Jade had been nearly inseparable for the past eight years. Just the thought of not seeing her every day was ludicrous.

But, as his mom had told him, it was very much happening. And in one day, no less.

She had warned him of the job application she sent to Seattle a month ago, and it was something he dismissed readily. She had been applying for nursing jobs across the country for years now, and they had never left the Los Angeles area – or rather, not even the same house.

And then, she finally got a callback. Two days ago.

The day after he made a proposal to Jade.

He colored a little at the wording, but it was what Jade called it. Fair enough, it was a proposal of sorts; he had never proposed before, but he certainly felt as nervous as the actors looked in those romance movies. Maybe, in hindsight, it was out of the blue. For Freddie, the timing couldn’t have been better.

* * *

* * *

[8:32 AM] F: Jade?

[8:34 AM] J: When you send someone a text message, there's supposed to be an actual message attached. What's up, Freddie?

[8:35 AM] F: I like you.

[8:35 AM] J: Who is this?

[8:36 AM] F: You password-protected my phone, Jade. I never removed it. jaderox. It's me.

[8:36 AM] J: Where is this coming from?

[8:36 AM] F: Can we do this in person?

[8:37 AM] J: What do you mean by liking me? Tell me, or I'm calling you right now.

[8:37 AM] F: More than a friend, and I can't do this over the phone.

[8:38 AM] J: How long?

[8:39 AM] F: Since I met you, more-or-less. Do you hate me now?

...

[8:41 AM] J: Did you just REJECT my call?

[8:41 AM] F: You didn't answer my text. I can't bear it if you yell at me.

[8:41 AM] J: I have never yelled at you before, Freddie. Check your voicemail.

[8:44 AM] J: Please.

...

[8:48 AM] F: Did you really mean all of that?

[8:49 AM] J: Every single word. Does that sound like I hate you?

[8:49 AM] F: Can we please meet up?

[8:49 AM] J: I suppose this conversation would have been better person-to-person.

[8:50 AM] F: That's what I've been saying.

[8:50 AM] J: Smartass. Playground?

[8:50 AM] F: Can't think of a better place.

_…_

When the two reunited, under the tree in the park, the pair was unsure of what to do next. They usually met up here, and whatever they did for the rest of the day was decided on what they felt.

Jade stepped up first, and surprising them both, she hugged him.

It was the first time she had ever hugged him in public. It felt… nice.

She gripped tightly to him, her black-painted nails digging into the back of his shirt. After a small moment of indecision, she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

She stepped back, and grinned at his shocked expression. “Better than yelling, huh?”

Freddie mentally shook himself out of his stupor, grinning at his friend. “Yeah… but could you blame me?”

Her smirk dropped a little. “Freddie, I’d never yell at you. I literally yell at everyone else _except_ you.”

“Yeah, but – ”

“But _nothing_.” She paused, and frowned fully. “I was worried about the same thing. You don’t yell at anyone, and I always thought if I dropped a bomb like that on you… I wouldn’t know how you’d respond.” Her eyes were filled with uncertainty. “If anything, I thought this would be too weird.”

Freddie smiled. “Our friendship is weird, or so I’ve heard. What’s another layer?”

Her frown stayed on her face. If anything, she was more uncertain. “Freddie – Are you… are you sure you want to do this?”

He crossed his arms. “Of course. You?”

Her lips quirked upwards. “Of course. Fair warning. I give it a few days before you come to your senses.”

“I give it a week for you to come to yours.” He reached forward, and grasped her hand in his. She squeaked, and after a fierce internal debate, her hand stopped trembling. Only after she stopped, did he remove his hand. “I have more faith in me.”

She swatted his shoulder. “Ass.”

Freddie jumped away, and chuckled. “And the clock starts!”

* * *

“Only three stupid days,” she muttered, suddenly feeling sick.

That broke Freddie out of his muse. He glanced down at the beautiful girl, her eyes still closed.

He was more than pissed… almost brimming with anger at the turn of events that had transpired in his life – but when he looked at Jade, pleased or not, he couldn’t help but think, that somehow, someway, it was going to turn out well for them.

He had spent most of yesterday packing, wondering to himself how he was going to tell Jade. Her phone had finally broken down on her, after a long, arduous shelf-life of four years, and she had chosen that day to go get her ears pierced, with her mom’s permission.

Halfway through the day, he came up with an idea.

He reached behind him stealthily, and pulled out a box. He gently pressed the box on her chest, into the crook of their intertwined arms.

Jade’s eyes opened in surprise. “What the…?” She got a closer look at the small, plain box. She lazily reached up and grabbed the box. “What’s this?”

“A TekMate,” he blurted, before he grimaced. “Though I wanted you to open it first…”

“Thank you,” she said quickly, and before she could stop herself, she smiled brightly up at him.

It was a rare occasion to see Jade give a full-on smile. In fact, he could count on one hand the amount of times he saw such a bright smile on her face. One of them was when she found her Demo CD in his CD player, several months after she gave it to him. Another was her response to the pure joy on his face after seeing _The Scissoring_ for the first time, at the mom-and-pop theatre Halloween marathon screenings.

Every time she smiled like that, he wondered how he was ever lucky enough to associate with her, let alone for her to consider him a friend.

She looked back at the box in her hand and removed the top of it. She took out the black and silver piece of hardware from the box and put the wrapping to the side, on the blanket they were sitting on. “Was it expensive?”

He lightly rested his chin on the top of her head. “No, not really. It was a suggestion from mom, actually.”

Jade perked up, and looked at him incredulously. “Mama Benson _likes_ me?”

Freddie frowned. “You know, Jade, it may surprise you, but you aren’t an unlikeable person.”

She smiled sweetly, but Freddie, knowing her for so long, saw through the sarcasm. It really wasn’t difficult – she rolled her eyes when she spoke. “Was that the line you used to win her over?”

“I’ll tell her you liked the gift,” he said plainly, and she nodded in appreciation.

His mother was always an iffy topic in conversation. Freddie, for the most part, loved his mother; after all, she was his mother. Other than the horrible decision of naming him ‘Fredward’, he honestly understood that she was looking out for his best interests. When she was doing something unbearable, he usually vented to Jade. The compliments rarely surfaced in-between. But she was neutral to Jade – she neither disliked her nor preferred her, simply because she seemed to be the only friend Freddie had. She tried desperately to make him new friends, but he wasn’t quite the same with others around. He was more drawn in, and less responsive to them. Only when Jade was around, did she truly see the beginnings of a man she wanted her son to be – confident, outgoing, and, to her chagrin, happy.

He directed his eyes back to the device, and she quickly followed suit. “I’ve already preloaded it with my contact information. Just my email and TekMate number. It’s supposed to be a texting device but I uhh… modified it.”

She raised an eyebrow, but he couldn’t see it. “Modified it?”

“Let’s just say I didn’t bother getting a warrantee on it. I’m pretty sure it’d be voided.”

She snorted lightly. “Sure. What else did you do?”

“Besides turn it into a phone? Not much else.”

Her head swiftly turned to him, her eyebrows arched high. “Excuse me?”

He grinned. “I was tinkering around with it, and I decided to go back in the bin,” he explained, referring to the box of broken electronics that he had been collecting, for spare parts to repair the current equipment he had, like his pearPad. “Long story short, it’s a phone. And since you’re on my mom’s plan, it doesn’t cost a dime.”

“Freddie… I…” not knowing what to say was an understatement. He was a technological genius, she knew, but his feats astounded her, and it was surely his most ambitious project to date. She was always in awe of his accomplishments. “Wow!”

He smiled to himself. “It’s always worth it to hear that.”

Jade was usually uncomforted by the words of flattery her best friend said to her, whether they were in jest or sincere. Not the words, per se, but particularly, the reaction it caused. The pit of her stomach swelled like a balloon, and her head felt light. The confusing feelings that hit her always left her in a slight daze, and she had no idea how to respond to them. This time was no different. She shifted minutely in his lap at the surge of feelings, and Freddie quickly tightened his hands around her, holding her still.

Her eyes widened a little bit, realizing her mistake. “Sorry,” she mumbled embarrassingly, and Freddie only hummed in response, too mortified to say anything else.

She already felt it beginning to press against the denim of her loose jeans – the beginnings of Freddie’s hard-on had plagued them for years, quite a few years after Jade began sitting on Freddie’s lap. She never did it to embarrass Freddie – if anything, it was equally embarrassing for her. They had mutually, _silently_ , agreed from the very beginning that it was something to be ignored, and to draw attention to it would be more of a humiliation than a solution. She didn’t move, and he didn’t move, and it disappeared on its own. The awkward silences soon faded throughout the months, and it was barely noticed anymore, even though Jade appreciated the unsaid compliment every time.

It was strange, yes, but it was something they were both used to. Jade wasn’t going to give up sitting on Freddie’s lap for such a minor disturbance, and ever since she discovered the _‘joys’_ (her words, laced with sarcasm) of transforming from a girl into a young woman, inexplicably, she became more firm on her decision. He wasn’t exactly going to argue against it, especially as he was going through several of the same things.

Once again, strange. But it was how they lived their lives. Of course, no one else needed to know, especially parents.

Jade tilted her head to the side, the TekMate in her hand forgotten. “Does it hurt?” she asked with a small voice, that he almost missed.

He lost his look of concentration, trying to will it to go down. And on such an important day… “Hm?”

“Does it hurt?” she asked him, almost plainly, with a little bit of concern. She had never asked questions about it before – they never even talked about it before, not even after the fact. “I mean, I’m sitting on it, and I’ve never sat on you sideways before…” she trailed off. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but when she sat on his lap before, it was usually both of them facing forward, the back of her head on his chest, instead of her side, as it was now. Unlike now, he never wrapped his hands around her, instead just placing his hands on her hips or something, if he wasn’t reading a book with her, and he was in charge of holding it that time. For that reason, whenever his ‘problem’ appeared, there was… politely putting, a groove that never blocked the growth’s path. Her pants, or occasional skirt, was always loose enough that there was never a question of where his problem was at all times. It always found its way sliding up the groove that was the crack of her butt.

Just thinking about it brought some color to her pale features. “Forget I asked.” She hid her face in her hair.

“No,” Freddie muttered quickly, wishing he could adjust himself. The added pressure was only getting to him, instead of making his erection retreat. And the thoughts of how it usually went away only made him harder. “It’s just uncomfortable.”

Jade nodded, feeling his erection pulse once against her denim-covered rear. She resolved to stay absolutely still, for Freddie’s comfort, as she had done many times before.

And something she might never do again.

Those last words came to her mind unbidden. It scared her. She knew he would likely keep his promise, if it was in his power, to return to her, and she may very well find herself in Seattle in the near future if he didn’t, but what scared her was the thought of them not being as close as they were now. Very few things scared Jade. Other people’s sweat, frogs, and the thought of losing her friendship with Freddie. She never had trust issues – no one looked at her and Freddie, having assumed that they were either together already, or it was a matter of time – but she was more concerned that what she had with him, this unique connection, would go away, with either time, or… a mistake of her own doing.

She breathed a steady breath, her mind calculating her next step. Freddie was, for the most part, shy and naïve, and so was she, to an extent, but they both knew what the ramifications of his erection meant. It was his hormones reacting to her body pressing against him. She was sure that he would respond to almost any girl sitting in his lap this way, and thankfully, that has never been put to the test. But she had no idea how he would respond to… her wanting to _do something_ about it.

“ _Hey_ ,” she blurted out, and the brunet’s attention focused back onto her, his concentration broken again. He looked frustrated by this point, but not at her – it wasn’t going down without a fight. “Do you think… you know… that it knows this might be the last time I’m sitting on your lap?” She looked completely sincere as she asked that question.

“Don’t say that,” he told her firmly, loosening his arms around her so she could move freely. Hearing his tone, she turned her neck to fully face him. “I’ll come back to you. I promise. Nothing will change, unless you want it to.”

Jade looked away embarrassingly. She wanted to believe those words so badly. “Just hear me out for a second, Freddie. We’re weird. Our daily rituals are… weird. Things like waiting for an erection to pass, and sitting on your opposite gender best friend’s lap when just chatting, is strange. I don’t want either of us to wake up one day and realize that it’s… childish or something. I care about you. I can’t even imagine doing this with anyone else. I’ve never seen… well, anything before. You’ve been around me since I was _four_. When we were feeling, you know, strange and awkward, we talked to each other about it. We’re too comfortable with each other. Can you see us doing this when we’re separated, and we meet back up in as little as a week, a month, a few months… to as long as a year? Do you really think we can pick up where we left off?”

“Absolutely.” His firm, immediate reply had her shocked. “I like you, Jade. I want to imagine you’ve always felt the same way I’ve felt, and that we only do what’s natural to us, and weird to others, because we’re comfortable with each other. I’m always comfortable with you. I’ll always be comfortable with you. We know pretty much everything about each other. Could we forget over time? Possibly, but I doubt it. Could we not learn the new things that happen in our lives? Definitely. A phone call isn’t nearly as comfortable as face to face, holding each other.” His fingers trailed up her spine before rubbing a delicate spot on her back, and she shivered. “Only I know that, Jade, and I knew that before we gave this new step in our relationship a test run. I know all your hopes and dreams, and I haven’t even asked you on a proper date yet! We know more about each other than a married couple.” His face reddened at that, and Jade found it… dare she say, sweet. “I can’t see myself moving on, or even trying to. Can you?”

Jade’s far too expressive teal eyes trained on Freddie’s equally animated brown eyes. “No,” she whispered breathily. And it was true. She had known Freddie far too long, had been through far too many troubled times with her best friend to even consider him a ‘childhood crush.’

Jade had no idea what love was. She had, of course, heard of the concept, but it was a mostly foreign idea.

But whenever she thought of the word, it always came with a face. And, at that moment, it was all that it meant, and all it could ever mean.

“Good,” he breathed to himself, almost in relief. And she felt ashamed for a moment. To be able to tell him how she felt, with emotion, and tears, and all that other crap they put in romance movies, and to put herself on the line, and…

It wasn’t her pride stopping her. Sure, she had a reputation as an Ice Queen, one that she loved, but it never meant anything to Freddie, and she didn’t bother putting that persona up around him. She truly _was_ an Ice Queen, in her mind, but Freddie was the only one who… well, didn’t annoy her. In a perfect world, everyone else would just disappear, and stay out of her way. But he could stay.

She saw the irony of her words, considering what would happen the next day, and it didn’t amuse her.

It was fear. And a part of her realized that it was always fear.

There were many moments in their lives when Freddie was there for her, to support her, and she responded with weak-willed thanks, and light appreciations. Of course, she was there for him all the time as well, and only when he absolutely needed it, did she let her heart speak to him. When his parents got a divorce, she cried with him, because his sadness brought her pain. When he was awarded with trophies and medals and certificates for his academic achievements, she celebrated with him, and she always smiled for him, because she was genuinely happy for him. But when her emotions were under control, she tended to reign them in far more than she needed to.

She took him for granted, sometimes. And she was afraid. Afraid that if she put it all on the line, that it would bite her one day. Afraid that if she actually expressed her feelings, and told him how much he meant to her, and how much she was affected by their friendship… if it ever went away, then it would be a killing blow.

Admitting that she liked him? Crushing enough. Actually admitting, out loud, even to herself, that she…

That she loved him?

It just might kill her, to admit that before he moved. It just might kill her to admit that at all. To say something like that, to publicly announce how vulnerable she was to him. How she _needed_ him, how she desperately hoped he felt the same. And, what if he did? Nothing would change. He was still moving. She was still going to have to move on.

She just didn’t know how to.

“This will last, Jade,” Freddie muttered quietly, knocking her out of her reverie. “I can’t help but think it will. We agreed three days ago, that this was a test. If it got too awkward, no harm, no foul. And except for the news… I don’t remember being so happy.”

Her eyes strayed away from his, and in a broken whisper, she croaked “Me, too. Dammit, Freddie, me too.” She tilted her head back and groaned in exasperation. “ _Three days_! Three _stupid_ fucking days!”

Freddie didn’t bother admonishing her language. If anything, it was a compliment – she only cursed when she was extremely passionate about something. “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” he whispered, his hand moving up to stroke her long, straight jet-black hair. “Still – I never took you on that date, did I? We still have time to go to the movies…”

“I don’t want a movie,” she shook her head, and pressed her cheek against his chest once again. She wrapped her arms around his torso, and clasped tightly. She didn’t want to let go – ever. “Let’s just stay here…” she whispered, her voice broken. “Grow old.”

Freddie blinked away the unshed tears and wrapped his own arms around his girl, hugging her to him. “Not a bad idea,” he whispered, losing himself in the illusion; the possibility of having this girl by his side for years to come, until they moved in together to Elderly Acres down the street.

The pair of intertwined bodies, as they have many times before, drew comfort from each other’s presence. Their lives would be forever changed the next day, and their spot, under the tree with the widest shade in the park, across the playground, would forever be abandoned by the two best friends; but never forgotten. It was the place they met, it was the place they grew stronger, and, in the late hours of the night, when they finally awoke… it was the place they kissed for the second time in their lives.

Jade felt a poke on her thigh as she leaned back. “It’s back,” she muttered, now wide awake.

Freddie looked down. “I don’t think it left.”

Jade looked around the empty park, and across to the empty playground. She stretched her legs before standing up, giving her boyfriend a hand. The erection in his jeans was protruding obscenely; as she expected it to be, after years of feeling it against her. She gathered up the blanket and slipped back on her sandals. She waited for Freddie to slip his on before she tugged on his hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“I still have more time,” Freddie muttered, but began following her none-the-less. “Mom’s working the nightshift.”

“Good,” she grinned mischievously, turning her head back to him as they walked. “My mom’s out, too. We’ll go to my place.”

“My sixth sense is tingling,” Freddie muttered, noticing the peculiar smile, and for the first time, he wasn’t even remotely worried. In fact, he smiled back.

“Good. Keep that sense. And the tingling. You’ll need it. Hopefully.”

Freddie raised an eyebrow. “I’m a guy with hormones, Jade. I’m pretty sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Nope.” She walked faster, and Freddie easily kept up. “You’re getting the general idea. I think you know exactly what I’m thinking.”

“I’m thinking you want to make out.”

“Nope,” she said again, and shook her head. “I’m a girl with hormones. You’re a guy with hormones. You’re leaving tomorrow. We both have problems we need to take care of. We’re just cutting out the middle man.”

Freddie was stunned for a second. “Middle man?”

She faced forward, her intentions already resolute. “I’ve read what guys do when it won’t go away. And if you don’t know how… I’ll show you.”

Freddie’s mind ran a mile a minute. “Are… are you sure?”

She looked back at him, her smile now dropping. “Completely, Freddie. I can’t tell you how I feel in words.” She stopped, and let go of his hand. “I thought a lot about it, when we were asleep. I had this whole speech prepared, and I forgot it.” She breathed deeply. “It ends with us taking as many steps as we would have had as a couple, if we had the time. Because I won’t do this with anyone else, Freddie. It’s you, or no one. And I need to know what it feels like. To be with you.”

Freddie saw the vulnerability in his girlfriend’s eyes. He heard the strain and hesitation in her voice. “Jade… I want to know, too. I’m willing to go as far as you want to…but… I have to ask again – ”

“Don’t.” She stepped forward, and kissed him again. When she pulled back, she smiled gently at him. “Please. I’m sure. I’m ready. I… I…”

“Okay.” He smiled down at her, and kissed her forehead. He held onto her hand and led the way to her home. “I want this, too.”

Her lips quirked into a smile. “Yeah. What you said.” ‘ _I want this… I want you… I need you. It’s all relative, I guess. Do we really need to say it to each other right now? Right before he leaves? Would it really be a good thing to say it to each other?_ ‘

Her smile went full-blown as her house came into view. ‘ _We’ve got time to say whatever we want to each other._ ‘

* * *

_I love you._

_Fuck, I can’t believe I’m doing this.  
Clarifying – I’m mostly talking about getting on a plane to see you. Not the above statement._

_I tripped and dropped your present in the fountain at the airport. You didn’t tell me it wasn’t waterproof. Not blaming you or anything. I’m a screwup._  
And, according to the girl next to me, I’m a stalker, too. Whatever. I just want to see you again. Is that so fucking difficult to do nowadays?  
Once again, not blaming you. Checking your SplashFace messages isn’t hard to do, though.

She held down the backspace button, biting her bottom lip. Her cynicism was what got her in trouble in the first place. She vowed to change that.

Jade sat back on the moderately comfortable seat. So she couldn’t get in touch with her best friend. And so, here she was, skipping school, on a plane to Seattle. She wasn’t completely insane – it was a round-trip ticket.

However, she had no idea where his house was. And that could be a problem.

She closed her eyes, leaned over, and held her head between her hands. Maybe she _was_ crazy. Who traveled to another city to find someone, and not have a clue as to where they live?

Crazy in love? Yuck.

The concept of being in love was foreign enough, but making a cheesy song out of a clichéd catchphrase?

She jumped up, a little bit. Jade chanced a glance to her left at her seatmate. She was still asleep. Just as well; she didn’t want something else to be ridiculed about, and she would mock her relentlessly for the new idea she had.

A song. So far, it’s been the absolute best and direct way of expressing her feelings. Once her words took over, she left it in the rhythm of her thoughts, and as cheesy as it was, her soul.

She flexed her thumbs, and began typing again.

 _I never tried writing a love song_  
I never tried to go to that place  
But the memories of your eyes, your hair, your face  
It seems like I’m almost living in this space

 _It’s disgusting – how much you affect me_  
How cold I am without your embrace  
Now that you’re gone I feel weak -and- pain  
And that’s why I’ve never gone to that place

 _Crazy in love, that’s what they tell me_  
And maybe they’re right, but can I really be blamed?  
It’s only crazy if you don’t feel the same  
And if I take this last leap of faith, what will remain?

 _I could’ve pictured us in a couple of years_  
Getting along like those people in Cheers  
We’re best friends, and I thought that was all I needed  
And trying to ask for more would make me conceited

She paused. Four verses in, and no hook. She wasn’t one for repetitive chorus lines, and she especially wouldn’t love them in a few years when she did her own concerts (of which she was certain), but she felt that the song needed an… an anchor of sorts.

She hummed to herself what she had so far, the lyrics melting into place with her melody. She switched words around, made verses shorter, as she usually did when she wrote a song. It always began as a poem, and she would go from there.

_Take, take, take a step, make a move, take your breath  
And I’ve got a hell of a story to tell if you’re impressed._

She almost put in the lyrics ‘Take a trip’, referring to her flying across the country, but thought better of it. She was sorely tempted, though.

Closing her eyes, she leaned back and smiled, a clear image coming to her. She continued in her head.

 _I never tried writing a sappy love song._  
Because all I think about is how it could go wrong.  
But when I think of your eyes, your hair, your face,  
I see that the song was there all along.

She quickly wiped a tear from her eye. She couldn’t believe how cheesy that sounded. Then again, it was a love song.

She typed the last verse into her brand new TekMate with trembling thumbs. She then looked back again through the verses for typos. Perhaps it was a mistake.

Could she really post this to Freddie’s SplashFace page? She was already going to his house (if she could find his house – once again, this was so _insane_ ) – why declare her feelings in a public forum?

Her hands grasped the phone tightly, her shoulders slumped back to the seat. She looked out the window, thankful her seatmate had allowed her to switch, and stared listlessly at the clouds.

 _‘I never tried writing a sappy love song… because I never wanted to feel like this.’_ She chuckled humorlessly, her forehead pressing against the glass. ‘ _Still… at least I get to see him again._ ‘

Her pleasant thoughts slowly drifted to pleasant dreams, not noticing the TekMate slipping from her fingers.

* * *

“Benson.”

“Sam.” He used his tongs to pick up the Fat Cake from the fryer, and added it to the collection. “Did I wake you?”

She said nothing. He thought as much. His back was turned to her, and he knew she was struggling to comprehend what was happening. “There’s some Tylenol in my mom’s bathroom. If your head hurts – ”

“Shut it.”

He took out another and laid it on the sheet. “I won’t have you messing up my mom’s room looking for medicine just because your head hurts.”

Though he couldn’t see it, her hand went to her head. “I don’t know what the hell you did to me, Benson – ”

“I didn’t do anything to you. I pinched the nerves in your leg while you were kicking me. I didn’t expect you to stand up. You smashed your head on the table. I carried you to my room. I’m not having Mrs. Shay catch you like that.” He shrugged, dropping another unfinished Fat Cake into the boiling pot. “You’re welcome.”

He wiped his hands on his apron and moved his chef’s hat to the side. He turned around, looking directly at the girl standing in the hallway. “If you’re going to attack me, now would be a good time. You’ve got two minutes.”

“You promise you didn’t touch me?”

That question shocked Freddie. It showed on his face. “ _Answer me!_ ” she yelled, her fists clenching. She stepped forward a little bit, but Freddie didn’t flinch. Oddly enough, that gave her pause.

He leaned back on the counter. “It crossed my mind, but I didn’t,” he replied tersely. “I was sorely tempted. All that work…”

“ _What?_ ” She whispered a dangerous whisper. “Work? You mean what you did to me two days ago? What the fuck do you mean _work_? Conditioning? You were trying to _train_ me?”

Freddie shook his head. “When I was spanking you, yeah. It worked for Pavlov.” Before she could snap back, he beat her to the punch. “And then I took it too far. We talked about this before. It’s probably not too late to report me. The school cameras are fake, yeah, but maybe the janitor noticed the smell?”

She didn’t pay much attention to the last statement. Rather, the second to the last. “What? The cameras are fake?” She couldn’t believe the concept had never come to her – the thought that they could have been caught on the school security cameras had never occurred to her.

“You honestly think you’d still be a student if there was video evidence of your bullying?” He asked incredulously. “Trust me, I’ve looked. I could have gotten you expelled a lot of times.” He glanced back at the collection of Fat Cakes in the fryer – not done yet. “Honestly, I could’ve gotten you expelled through other means.”

He saw her fists clenching and unclenching. “But you didn’t.”

“Exactly. Just like you didn’t report me for giving you a far less painful punishment. As far as I’m concerned, we’re even.”

“ _Even_? You _raped_ me!”

“I _molested_ you,” He replied tersely. “There’s a difference. Granted, it’s all wrong, and sick. I already told you that. But I warned you.”

She was quiet for a good, long moment. When Freddie turned back to remove the Fat Cakes, she finally spoke, gathering her words. “I should hurt you. Bad. For what you did to me. I should dunk your head in that grease.”

“What’s stopping you?”

She was quiet for another moment. “What stopped _you_?”

He turned off the stove. “What do you mean?”

“When you were… _touching_ me. What stopped you? I noticed… you wanted to continue.”

He knew exactly what she was referring to. “I saw a naked girl, and my body reacted. But I realized, too little, too late, that I made a mistake. I was just so… goddamn _sick_ of you.”

Sam stepped back in surprise. The pure, raw emotion in his face scared her for a moment. She swallowed nervously. “That’s no excuse – ”

“That’s no excuse for you to torture me!” He growled, and shook his head. “I could have beaten the shit out of you. I could’ve gotten you back for the month of putdowns, punches, tackles, throwing things… some of them sharp.”

“You caught them…” she defended herself weakly.

“And that wasn’t your first clue that I was more than what I seemed.” Freddie removed his apron. “I can do a lot of things, and it’s pretty obvious you were completely surprised when I snapped.” He sighed to himself. “You were so nice the last couple of days. I almost could’ve said you were… likeable. Guess miracles can’t happen.” He glared at her. “Still, you left me alone, didn’t you? If I kicked your ass, fight fire with fire, it would’ve been a never-ending war. You would’ve found a creative way to one-up me, and like always, I beg for you to stop it. Anything else I would have done to you would have been considered a _game_.”

He turned on the sink, and lathered his hands with liquid soap. His eyes strayed away from the blonde. “I’m not apologizing again for what I did. We can debate all day about which was worse, but I get nightmares about what you did to me. _You_ get wet dreams.”

Before his hands could touch the water, he found himself being forcefully turned around. He backed into the cupboard, her forearm crushing his throat. She let up to quickly grab his hands and pushed them to the side.

Debatably, you could call Samantha Puckett a cute girl. Generally. When she actually takes the time to look nice, she looks amazing. Even when she’s not trying, she gives off an air of appeal that you can’t really let go of. Sure, Carly’s looks was usually put in comparison next to the girl, because they’re usually never seen without each other, and while Carly’s winning smile and personable attitude would almost always win, Sam was very attractive in her own right.

But usually, she preferred to look neither cute nor even attractive. She wanted to look scary. And she was good at it. She stared deep into Freddie’s eyes, her mind racing, her own eyes wild. She bared her teeth at his lack of response, and her hands gripped his own tighter. “How the _hell_ did you know that?”

“You just told me.” It wasn’t his physical non-response that had her off. Rather, it was the bland way in which he told her. It wasn’t a smug comment; it was more of a truthful statement. “I don’t even know where you live, Sam. I don’t know, and I don’t _want_ to know. I’m not spending another second on you. I put up with you because I want to get to know Carly, and under all those layers of toughness, I saw a beautiful girl crying for attention. Or you really did get off on torturing me. I saw, in the past couple of days, that the former is true. You try to hate me, but you couldn’t. You couldn’t because I’m _exactly_ what you need. An hour ago, when I called you my friend, I lost that person I was having a great conversation with. So I reminded you of what I did, and you were still coming to terms with it. You didn’t respond well. I don’t blame you.”

“I shouldn’t be _blamed_ for a damn thing.”

“And that’s why we’re even.”

The room was silent, save for the breathing of the room’s two occupants. It was a stand-off; a confusing one at that. From a look alone, Sam was clearly the one domineering the confrontation. She had gripped his arms sometime during his speech, and she looked ready to go through on her promise of dunking his head in the still-hot grease.

“Fine. We’re even.” After a long second, she let go of him. “You win. I’ll leave you alone.” She raised up her hands in surrender.

Freddie quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing for a moment. She stared at him for a few good moments, and then, without warning, grabbed both his ears and pulled him closer.

And she kissed him.

Save for the running water of the faucet, the room was ensconced in silence, once again. There was no breathing – the stunned preteens could do nothing but have their lips pressed together. Sam’s eyes were wide with fear, not from the kiss but the _feeling_. Freddie began to respond, and her hands trembled, tightening and loosening on his arms. His hands reached her side, and he hugged her to him.

Finally, her eyes closed, and she gave a soft sigh.

She couldn’t keep going without knowing – she had to figure out if it was just the spur of the moment that made her kiss him that day, or if she was just insane.

It was happening. She was attached.

She pushed herself away. “I’m insane,” she breathed.

“Glad I’m not the only one,” he calmly noted – his heavy breathing ruined the deadpan.

She stared at him again, in a whole new light. “What the hell is wrong with me,” she said, again. She had been wondering for the past couple of days, since she last kissed Freddie. She didn’t phrase it like a question. It was a concerned statement, at best.

Freddie held Sam firmly around her waist, and he slid his fingers up and down her side. Instead of commenting, he slowly leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. As she had done before, her hands slowly found their way behind his neck, and she held onto him.

And she remembered the reply he had given her when she first voiced that concern – maybe she was falling for him?

She didn’t doubt it much, now.

* * *

“Slept well?”

Jade glared sleepily at her newest friend. “Not nearly as long as I wanted to.”

“Food’s coming.” She jabbed her thumb back to the flight attendant, who was passing out plates a few rows behind them. “I told them chicken. I assume you want the chicken?”

“Would’ve preferred the salad,” she grumbled. After a brief, tense moment, she sighed. “Chicken is good, though. Thank you.”

Dana smiled. “That sounded like it was painful to say.”

“It was. I’m getting used to it.”

“Freddie’s influence?” She wondered, putting down the tray in front of her.

“More like his fault,” she sleepily uttered, mimicking the brunette/blonde. “He prefers that I not bite the head off of anyone that does something for me.”

“All I did was assume you hated the beef. Airline food in general is iffy, but you rarely go wrong with chicken.”

She fixed the Hispanic girl with a light glare. “That’s not what I mean.” She turned away, towards the window. “You didn’t have to agree to help me. These tickets aren’t cheap.”

Dana shrugged. “I go to a pretty expensive boarding school. The areas around campus takes advantage of it. I save up a lot, waiting for my parents to figure out I’m not the most frivolous around.” She quickly thanked the stewardess, who handed her two covered plates. She put both plates on the fold-out tables in front of them. “What about you? How did you convince your parents to move across the country for a boy?”

“Dad sends me money to make up for the fact that I never met him,” she sighed, still facing the window. “So I guess he’s a rich dude. Mom usually stays out of my way – I’m pretty sure she hasn’t noticed yet. I’ll come back in a few days.”

“Wow. Privileged _and_ parentless.” Dana smiled. “You’ll go far.”

Jade finally turned back to her, only to once again give her a light glare. “Say that again, boarding school baby?”

Instead of being indignant, the slightly older girl laughed. “Okay, fair enough. Still, I’m not flying to Seattle on a whim. I’m visiting my parents for a few days. My dad is sick. If it’s bad, I’ll stay up there for a while.” She removed the plate, and was hit with a whiff of steaming, seasoned boneless chicken. “Whoa. That smells pretty good.”

Jade’s nose wrinkled in reflex, before she opened her own plate. “Hm. Not bad.” She grabbed her utensils and started cutting it. “Yeah, well, we can’t all have parents that are worth our attention. If I didn’t think of Freddie as anything more, I’d still consider him like a brother. He’s been my best friend for eight years and we haven’t been apart since. I miss him.”

Dana, cutting her own food, noted the tone in her new friend’s voice. “I wish I had someone like that. To be so young and in love…”

“Your passport says you’re my age…” she murmured disinterestedly, slicing her plastic knife through the chicken.

She raised her eyebrow. “Observant. So, you _are_ in love?”

Jade stopped cutting abruptly, frozen. Then, almost on auto-pilot, she began cutting again. She didn’t say anything until she put her plastic fork and knife down. “You said it before already. I’m a crazy psycho stalker, right?”

Dana snorted. “Sure. Or you’re in love. Or you really want to know what could’ve been.” She was quiet for a few seconds. “I heard the song. I was just waking up. It sounds… amazing.”

Jade was normally proud of her singing, and her flawless pale skin, but on this occasion, the two worked against each other, and she blushed. She would have hidden her face in her hair, but her ponytail prevented her from doing so.

The Hispanic girl laughed at Jade’s distress. She quickly sobered, and added, “You have a great singing voice. You planning on using it?”

She muttered something, and abruptly cleared her throat. She was _not_ an embarrassed little girl. “I’m going to Hollywood Arts next summer. Acting and singing.”

Dana scrunched her eyebrows together. She vaguely remembered the Hollywood Arts backpack the girl stowed in the compartment above them. “So, you bought your backpack at the campus bookstore? And you’re not even a student?”

She shook her head. “I have a cousin who went there. The bag was complimentary, but she never needed it, so she gave it to me.” She took bite of the chicken after giving it a chance to cool down. “Hm… pretty good.” She failed to mention that Freddie’s baked chicken was much better, but this was still pretty damn good… for airline food.

“So… how was it?”

“Hm?” Dana turned to her, just having swallowed the first bite. “Oh, I haven’t eaten it yet. The asparagus is terrible, as per usual.”

“Not the food. The song.”

“Oh. Well, I already told you. It was a great song.”

“And how would you feel if someone sang it to you?”

“Awww…” she fluttered her eyelashes. “What are you trying to tell me? _Ow_!”

Jade ate her food nonchalantly while Dana rubbed her forearm. “I thought Freddie told you to be nice.”

“Freddie’s not here,” she responded tersely.

Dana grumbled, then ate her food in silence. When she was half-through, she looked over at Jade, who was mixing the food around on her plate, not really eating it, just going through the motions. She looked… almost worried. The Hispanic girl sighed. “I’d feel loved.”

The ebony-haired girl’s head sprung up a little, like a static shock. “What?”

Dana continued, nonplussed. “I’ve never written a song, and I never felt enough emotion for anyone to do it. When someone writes me a song, I can’t help but be a little bit flattered. But, I think it’s the connection to the person singing it that gives it meaning. A song is just words, without the meaning, right?”

Jade was silent for a few more seconds, appraising the other girl, before she nodded stiffly. “Thank you.” She turned back to her food.

Dana waved it off. “You’re just saying that because Freddie told you to.”

“Yeah, probably.” Dana laughed, before they both continued their meal in a more companionable silence.

* * *

Sam stepped back, once again. “Fuck. Why am I doing this? _Why_ are we doing this?”

“You want to know why you kissed me two days ago, and if you’d feel the same spark. You wanted to know if you weren’t caught up in the moment. I’m doing it because I’m using you.”

She stepped back, her mind reeling. “This needs to stop.”

Freddie shrugged. “You started it.”

She glared at him. “I hate you.”

“And yet, you’re falling for me.”

For the twelfth time that day, her hands formed into a fist. “Don’t push me, Benson.”

“Stop threatening me!” He growled, stepping towards her. She leaped back in surprise. Freddie, nonplussed, quickly reached behind her head and grabbed her hair. She brought up her hands to push him away, and with one swift move, he grabbed her hands together with his free hand.

She whimpered as his eyes stared murderously into hers, before moving down to her swollen lips. “I don’t care how long it takes for you to sort yourself out. God knows I wish a friend I knew was as direct as you… but don’t you dare take it out on _me_ because _you’re_ confused.

“So, until you figure it out, you have two choices. You either stay away from me, or I make you mine. Again.” His eyes were as hard as ever, and she found herself stuttering profusely. She had no doubt he was going to keep his word. “I can be a nice guy, or I can _dominate_ you.” He leaned forward a little, and whispered into her ear. “So choose wisely.”

The two were like that, standing together, cheek-to-cheek, the running water behind them forgotten. Sam’s heavy breathing was directly in Freddie’s ear, and a drip of sweat ran down her neck.

With a constricted moan, she pushed herself out of Freddie’s grasp. She looked back towards the door that led to the hallway.

The brunet noticed. “Make yourself look presentable before you leave.” He turned away, grabbing a napkin. He wrapped up a cooled down Fat Cake. “Here. I cooked these for you anyway. Take one.” He held out his hand. “And don’t talk to me again. Ever.”

She stared at the Fat Cake for a very long time, not really thinking – just staring. Hours ago, she would have snatched it from his hand and bitten into it with gusto, not caring if his fingers were in the way or not.

It was fascinating how much she had changed. Fascinating and disturbing. Which was why she chose not to think.

Her hands trembled, and she swiped the sweetly fattening junk food from him.

He let out a short sigh, one that could only be described as disdain, and turned back to the sink to finish washing his hands.

And for some, twisted reason, Sam was disappointed in herself.

Faster than she thought possible, her legs took her out of Freddie’s apartment, and not even glancing at Carly’s apartment, she paced down the hallway.

She had a lot of thinking to do.

* * *

Jade stepped out of the airport, her Hollywood Arts bag in her hand, and her suitcase rolling along behind her.

“Welcome to Seattle,” her new friend smiled, opening her arms beside her, as if giving the city in her view a big hug.

The pale girl frowned. “You sound too cheery. Stop it.”

Dana shook her head. “Hey, what can I say? I’m a night person.”

Jade looked off into the distance – the sun was close to setting. She checked her pockets for her wireless messenger. Her brow furrowed. “Where’s my TekMate?”

“In your bag,” Dana patted the side compartment of her backpack. At Jade’s curious expression, she explained. “You fell asleep with it in your hand. You almost dropped it, so I put it in your bag.”

Jade hesitantly nodded – she was really starting to build a reputation for new gadgets. She pulled her messenger out of her pack and slid up the screen to turn it on. The time was 8:28. She bit her lip. She had no idea where to start. Freddie didn’t give her any information, like where he lived and where he went to school, because he didn’t know until he moved.

She thought furiously to herself, before she looked over to the set of phone booths near the entrance.

She stared at it for a moment. She saw the large yellow phonebook connected to the booth, but the chances of it having Freddie’s mom in the book were non-existent. But what did people do then? Certainly there were ways of getting in touch with people?

She looked over to Dana, who was glancing around the not-so-packed lot for her mom’s car. “Can I see your phone?”

The Hispanic girl nodded, pulling out her phone. “Sure. What for?”

“How do you use four-one-one?”

* * *

Freddie plopped down onto his bed, his mind brimming with thoughts.

He wanted this week to be over with. Far too much was happening in his life, and he just wanted it all to go away.

Carly and Sam – how could he define them, and what did they mean to him?

He thought it would be simple enough. He had every intention of dating Carly. She was a sweet, bright girl, if a bit naïve. She reminded him of his younger self, actually. If there was anyone in Seattle that he could want to date, Carly was the perfect candidate, if only to see what it could lead to.

Sam, on the other hand, was Carly’s biggest flaw. He never really understood why she bullied him. Maybe she was just sick of his presence? Was he really that much of a nerd? He was never cursed to wearing glasses, and would sooner perform laser eye surgery on himself, than take that step. He was a Galaxy Wars fan, sure, and he loved to tinker with the latest technology, and he knew his stuff quite well, but they didn’t know that. He sometimes wondered if he should stay away from Carly, just to avoid Sam. There were several terms for that: Quitting, backing down, giving up, avoiding the problem, and, above all, losing. They all basically meant the same thing, but they all reminded him of the naïve little boy in Los Angeles, who was known as being nothing but a doormat. That wasn’t happening again.

So, what was her problem?

Was it really because he was the only person that challenged her?

She found an easy target, poked fun, and he kept coming back. Sam was probably very used to getting her way, and when she didn’t… she kept doing what she apparently did best. It didn’t make much sense to him.

He tried to look at it from her perspective. Scarily enough, it was easy. If a stranger walked into his life when he was in Los Angeles, and his friends (and he used that term loosely) preferred the company of the new kid, would he be threatened by his standings in the friendship?

Probably not. Friends were replaceable. None of them really lasted forever.

Or so he told himself.

He groaned loudly and put his head in his hands. There was no escaping it. He missed her.

Pale. Jet-black hair. Beautiful. Funny. Playful. Sweet. Intelligent. Fierce. Capable. Challenging. Independent. So uniquely…

Carly and Sam. Combined.

Jade.

“Fuck,” he muttered. It was the first time he uttered that word, out loud, in his entire life. It was necessary. It summed up everything, and gave it a nice little bow on top. It described his life, the situations around him, and his reaction to it. It defined everything that was him at the moment.

He missed Jade so much.

“Fuck,” he groaned again. He looked to his left, reached over to his nightstand, and lifted up the once turned-down picture.

He debated for a long time whether or not to keep the picture of the two together. It was a picture of them, their arms wrapped around each other’s shoulders, under their tree. His mom had taken the picture with his phone. The two smiled brightly into the camera, Jade’s a little faked, he could tell, because his mom refused to take the picture until she smiled brighter than she already had. His smile was fading as it went on, and the picture just turned out terrible, with his teeth showing, but the corners of his mouth twitching more downwards than upwards.

He wished his mom had just taken the damn picture. He missed her smile.

They were eleven at the time. It was the latest picture he had of the both of them, alone. He had wanted to take a picture of them, before he left, but their eyes were bloodshot, having been up all night, and they had been crying. She ultimately told him to take the picture, sacrificing her vanity for the memories, but he declined. He wanted a picture of the both of them in a happier setting, at a happier time. When he returned to her.

He placed the picture back on his nightstand and kept it up.

He wiped the tears that ran down the side of his face – he didn’t remember crying – and sat up from his bed. He closed his eyes, and remembered her words. The words that took his life to another level of joy, before plummeting only four days later, when he stepped on the plane. He still had the voicemail on his phone, shortly after he told her how he felt, the first time, that changed the course of their relationship.

 _‘Don’t you dare ignore me Freddie Benson! We’re going to talk about this! You can’t just say something like that to me, out of nowhere! If… if you’re going to say something like that, let me hear it. I want to hear it from you. That’s just not something you can text, Freddie… … … … … …I like you, too. A lot. Chizz. Alright. Maybe it_ is _better to put it in a text. But I like you. And if you think we can do this…like, date… it might get weird. And it probably will be. But I really want to try. If you’re game, then I am. Call me back. Please.’_

He wrinkled his nose. The number that voicemail was transferred to the TekMate he had given her before he left. And he never heard from her again.

Eight years. Eight years… and he hadn’t heard from her in a month. He sighed to himself, his anger expelled in one breath. All that remained was depression.

Was it him? Did she come to her senses? Maybe it was the delusional part of him talking, but what if she was trying to move on from him, by blocking out that part of their life, and trying to connect with other people? Like he had done?

Maybe… something happened to her? Maybe her mom took her messenger from her? Maybe she banned her from talking to him? Unlikely. Mrs. West had always liked him.

That got him to thinking. It was… inconsiderate of him, putting it lightly, but he refused to think much about Jade until now. The memories… in hindsight, they hurt. They hurt a lot. Just the thought that entered his head when he stepped off the plane… that she was intentionally ignoring him… had him frustrated to a point that he couldn’t comprehend anything.

He shook his head, and focused on the matter at hand. Jade’s mom didn’t have a cellphone, so he couldn’t call her. He literally lived fourteen stone’s throws away from her (Jade counted one day, when she was bored. Thankfully, no windows were harmed. Her aim was off. She insisted it wasn’t his persuading her not to.) As a result, he never needed her house phone number.

Something he was ashamed of, that was completely his fault – he had no idea what her address was. He knew the number on her mailbox, and he knew the neighborhood. But not the street’s name. He could look it up, get satellite images of her house. But he had no idea what the top of her house looked like. The houses all looked pretty uniform, no distinct differences. And, they all had garages. No noticeable cars would be in the driveway.

Fate hated him. Of that, he was certain.

He slowly stood from the bed and left his room, preparing to go to the store to buy some coconut shavings – the topping to his Fat Cakes. He forced a smile on his face as he walked through the kitchen to get to the door.

If Jade could see him now…

His hand stopped on the doorknob in mid-turn.

 _If Jade could see him now_. How would she respond to this new Freddie? Would she be happy that he was standing up for himself? Disappointed? …Afraid?

He smacked his forehead against the door. Stupid, stupid, stupid. He was practically dating a girl, while working on owning a slave. What sane person would react positively to that?

He couldn’t justify his actions. Really, he couldn’t. And, maybe there were situations in the past few days that he could’ve responded better to. Maybe he should’ve just gotten her arrested. Maybe… maybe he should’ve just hit her back? He grimaced at what would or could have happened if he responded in the only way she knew how.

Hell, maybe he could’ve gotten away with what happened in the past few days? What the hell was he working towards? Destroying a friendship? Did he want to make them feel as broken as he was?

He liked Carly. He legitimately did. Of course, not as much as he loved Jade, but…

Fuck. He did it. Love. The ‘L’ word.

He learned far too much from Jade. He was even starting to think like her. She never particularly liked that word.

He thought he could do this without her. He thought he was strong. He thought that, at least, for one year, he could function normally. A small part of him hoped that he could one day audition for Hollywood Arts, as a producer, or an actor, or even a writer. When he wasn’t acting opposite her, he produced her songs with recording equipment he had scrounged and manufactured from old parts in his ‘Recycling Bin’. She had praised him when he had the CD made, with a professionally designed album cover and everything… and she smiled so bright…

He opened the door and closed it behind him, staring at the door in front of him. Without preamble, he strode the three steps it took and knocked on the Shay’s residence door.

A lanky man with long brown hair answered the door, and Freddie tried not to be distracted by his strange, glowing socks. “Hey, Freddo! What’s up?”

Freddie grinned at the older Shay’s exuberance. “Hey Spencer. Could you pass on a message to Carly for me?”

He looked perplexed and glanced back towards the stairs. “Uh, I could call her if you want – “

“I can’t stick around,” he quickly stressed, raising his hands in a placating fashion. “I have to leave soon. Tell Carly I can’t make it to movie night tomorrow.”

“Oh,” he frowned. “Alright. She looked really excited about it, though. I hope you can make it another time. Can you tell me why?”

Freddie gave the softest of smiles. “I need to go to Los Angeles for a while. I made a promise to a friend.”

* * *

He sighed heavily to himself as he rode the elevator down to the lobby.

Everything he had done in his life, mostly, he had planned it through. He never really did things ‘on a whim’. Usually, if Jade wanted to do something fun for the day, not planning for it, he followed along, but only because following Jade _was_ the plan.

He didn’t want to think about this. He _couldn’t_ think about it.

He could afford a ticket with his own money. He hoisted his baby blue emergency bag over his shoulder, complete with his passport, several changes of clothes, a ‘modified’, in her words, first aid kit, a prepaid phone, a nightstick (for protection), a credit card, and several thousand dollars. It was a major perk of having Marissa Benson as his mother. He doubted he would have access to the pack again, after this excursion, however. But he didn’t think about it.

He stayed in his apartment long enough to grab his bag, take out the expandable nightstick, and grab his own cellphone. He didn’t get cellular reception in the building, and the free wifi was terrible, so he simply turned it off. As such, he never really had the chance to use it – It was on his charger for weeks, and while that was normally bad for the battery, he had plenty more if anything happened to it.

The phone pinged in his hand. On instinct, he raised the phone, curious. He turned on the screen with a little bit of trepidation. The only person who ever texted him was…

He sighed, disappointed. It wasn’t a text message. It was his phone alerting him that he had connected to the wifi-network the Apartment provided.

He snorted. This was supposed to be a high-end apartment complex. Yet they couldn’t afford a decent internet connection? It didn’t even ask if you were a guest! It was a come one, come all connection, vulnerable to anyone looking for information, and that was just asking for trouble.

He was already in the settings, looking to turn off his wi-fi, when his phone pinged again. This time, a popup appeared on the screen.

His SplashFace app? He forgot he had downloaded that. He never really had the chance to use it. His profile page was virtually empty. He didn’t belong to a circle of friends, cyber or otherwise. But it made logging into other websites easier, which was why he made the account.

Still, he opened the app anyway, his curiosity getting the better of him. It was probably another spammer looking for random friends and posting links to various malware.

He blinked in surprise. A ‘Guest’ had posted something on his profile, in the comments section. But it didn’t look like a link, or a chain message. In fact, it looked like… he pinched the screen, zooming closer, and turned his phone sideways.

With each verse he read, his mouth opened a little more, his mind barely comprehending what he was reading. He was sitting down now – he didn’t know how that happened. The pain on his rear meant nothing to him. He read each line, the words to him clearer and clearer; the girl behind the words as vivid in his mind as ever.

He rubbed his arm over his eyes – he hadn’t cried yet, but he was due for another any time soon – and smiled at the message at the end.

_‘I love you, Freddie. Your girl, Jade.’_

He quickly scrolled to the top of the post and outwardly gasped at the timestamp – _Posted 2 hrs ago._

“How?” he asked himself incredulously. “How is that…?” He checked the page, and sure enough, nothing else had been posted. She had contacted him two hours ago.

The doors opened. He gave a furtive glance into the empty lobby, but he otherwise ignored and paid attention to his phone.

Jade loved him. She loved him! His smile got wider and wider, his eyes shining brighter.

Then a selfish thought appeared in his head. She had sent him a lovely poem to convey her feelings to him. Two hours later, he’d be on a plane to Los Angeles to tell her himself. He chuckled at the timing of the message, the plethora of coincidences that must have led them to this point.

He pocketed his phone as he stood and looked up, the perfect romance story already planned in his head. He pressed the open button on the elevator, having already closed, but not summoned.

Funny, how plans worked for him.

The door opened to reveal a girl of a pale complexion and ebony hair, her arm falling to her sides from pressing the call button for the elevator. Her blue-green eyes darted around the inside of the box, before it settled on the lone boy inside the small room.

And then her eyes stopped. He could see her pupils dilate in surprise, her breathing stop mid-inhale. Her hand jumped to cover her mouth, and, involuntarily she took a step back; then immediately forward again.

He dropped his bag and took one step, but that was all he could do. She practically lunged forward and both exhaled, surprised at the force she ran into him with. The pain faded fast; he felt nothing – nothing but the euphoria, of the genuine feeling of being completely, perfectly, happy.

She was back in his arms, and he in hers.

“Freddie,” she whispered, and he began rubbing her back as he heard the tears in her voice. “My God… Freddie.”

His voiced squeaked a little, and he cleared his throat. “I – I was coming to see you. I was… _Jade_.”

She sniffed, her fingers digging into his back as her forehead rested into the crook of his chin. “Freddie,” she repeated, her smile showing her teeth for the first time in years, “I missed you. I missed you – so much.”

The doors closed again. Once again, he didn’t notice nor care. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

She snorted. “So am I.” It wasn’t said with any kind of sarcasm. She wasn’t going to fight him over who was the sorriest – who was the one to blame for the absence in each other’s lives.

They were here, together and that was all that truly mattered.

“I love you,” Jade spoke, loudly, in the elevator room.

It was a game she had played for far too long. It was a game that had potentially ended their friendship and relationship. She had trained herself, on the taxi ride there, that she would tell him. And she wouldn’t stop. “I… I… I love you, Freddie. And I don’t say that to anyone. I’ve never said it to my mom. I need you. I want you. I want this.” Her hands move up and gripped his shoulders. Freddie, hesitatingly, let go, almost as if she would disappear if he did. She pulled back and focused into his brown eyes. “I’m sick of hiding it. I had to tell you. If I never did, I… I don’t know.” Her lip trembled, an she quickly used her teeth to hold it in place.

It’s what the song said. Putting it all on the line, risking their entire friendship.

Freddie knew she was waiting for his response with bated breath. And he hesitated, but not without good reason.

He was a terrible person.

“I’m a terrible person,” Freddie muttered, looking away, at anything but her. “The things I’ve done here, Jade… I… you won’t love me if I told you.”

Jade had nothing but concern in her eyes. She didn’t have scorn, preparing herself to look at a monster. She had nothing but curiosity in her deep teal eyes, nothing but utter patience on her features. “Freddie,” she whispered softly, her fingers wandering to his chin, forcing him to look at her. “Do you love me?”

Freddie almost shuddered at the tone in her voice. It was a girl that was truly afraid of what he said next.

For a moment, he seriously considered letting her live in bliss and ignorance. Sam would likely avoid him forever. He hadn’t done anything with Carly that she would consider him as having any kind of relationship with her.

He would be happy, she would be happy. And they could be happy forever.

“Jade,” he whispered, “I love you. There isn’t a part of me that doesn’t love you.”

She expelled a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and she smiled. “Good.” She reached behind her, and glanced back. Her fingers pressed for Floor 8, and the elevator started moving. “Whatever you’re going to say – it can wait. I haven’t seen you in a month, and I need this; you. Holding me. Just like before.”

Freddie smiled softly at the girl – his girl. “I know a good place.”

* * *

The black-haired girl held onto the steel of the black balcony, her other hand in Freddie’s firm grasp, stepping over through the window into the warm, summer air. “Wow,” she muttered, watching the cars pass down the street, all the way down the block. She looked up, and her vision spotted the Space Needle from a distance.

“Yeah,” Freddie muttered, his eyes only for the beauty that chose to love him, however misguided the decision was. “Wow.”

She blushed, her ponytail doing nothing to hide it, and she smiled a soft smile at him. “Thanks, Freddie.” She let go of his hand and looked around the spacey balcony for a good spot to sit. There was a crate that he could sit on, but it just didn’t feel the same. “Can we – you know – sit on the floor?”

He cocked his head, looking at the hard, ridged, non-slip grate that was the floor. Finally, he conceded.

Her next move shocked him. She swiftly slid her blue jean jacket down her arms and carefully laid it out on the grate. Before he could protest, she sat down on the edge of the jacket, and patted the spot next to her, the middle. Freddie, battling with himself for a second, conceded again and sat down next to Jade. Without preamble, she scooted over onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck for leverage.

For a good, long time, the two were quiet. They listened to the sounds of the city, and they focused on the presence of each other. The two best friends, once again united, felt content with the world. Jade appreciated this spot – No one would stumble upon them here, unless there was a fire, so she could be herself.

She could treat him the way he deserved to be treated.

“So… you were coming back.”

“Yep.” His monotone voice cut through the warm air. He was essentially mindless at this point, his delirium unabated.

She remembered the brightly color bag that he had since dropped off in his room. “Emergency Bag?”

He rested his chin on her forehead. “Yep.”

“Seems a bit… short notice,” she wondered, furrowing her eyebrows. How did they have the same inspiration to meet each other on the same day?

“I got your message,” Freddie smirked, waiting for her reaction.

It wasn’t a reaction he was expecting. She looked even more confused. “What message?”

“Uh… the poem?”

She blinked several times. “I never sent that. I wrote it on the plane on the way here… then I fell asleep… and my friend Dana, she…”

The confusion left her face, and it only left a neutral expression. “She took it out of my hand and put it in my bag.” Her eyes focused on his. “I don’t know if I’m angry at her or not. So, if she hadn’t sent that message…”

Freddie sighed. He knew he couldn’t have gotten out of it that easy. “No. I got the message when I was in the elevator, with my SplashFace app. It’s… it’s relating to what I said earlier. I wanted to see you. I wanted to tell you what I did.”

Jade wasn’t one to be surprised easily. With everything that happened today for her, she was willing to believe, and promptly accept, anything. Did he get himself a girlfriend? It would be a… surprise, to say the least. Not that there was anything wrong with Freddie, but he wasn’t an outgoing person to anyone except her. She had been hit on in the past month, and she put her foot down, stating her disinterest, but only because she had eyes for him. She just wouldn’t be interested in other guys. In fact, if she were honest with herself…

She shook her head physically. Back to Freddie. “Is it about a girl?”

Freddie hesitated, and she knew the answer before he could vocalize it. He nodded, shamefacedly.

“Freddie…” she tried to phrase her question right. “I want you to answer me honestly. If I were interested in a boy, would you let me date him?”

It was a difficult question to ask. One of the hardest she could ever ask, actually. Freddie took a moment to ponder the question. “Um… yes and no.”

Jade frowned. “Clarify,” she spoke, softly but firmly. She was neither angry nor pleased, she was just curious.

He leaned his head back. “I want you to be happy, Jade. That’s all I ever wanted. If you can find someone that makes you feel like that, then by all means, go for it. I’m your friend, and I care about you. I just want you to be _happy_.”

Jade’s fingers slithered to the back of his neck, and tilted his head forward until they locked eyes. “That’s it, isn’t it? My happiness. Not yours.” She put her other hand over his mouth, her fingertips pressing gently against his lips. “But _you_ make me happy, Freddie. And that’s what you were going to say next, wasn’t it? That you hoped that _you_ would be the guy I found happiness with?”

He nodded, his eyes shining.

“When I saw you on that elevator… it was distracting how much… how ‘giddy’ I was. But I saw how you felt, too.” She moved her fingers away, and leaned in, capturing his lips in a sweet, short kiss. She leaned back, but Freddie quickly followed, and she squeaked in surprise. She gave in, and relaxed into the kiss.

Her heart beat faster. Her belly ached a little. Her head felt light. And for the first time in her life, she embraced the feeling.

Love? Hormones? Did it matter? As long as she had one, and either reacted like this to only one person in her life, what was the problem?

He pulled back, and she made to follow him, but he held her firmly. He pressed his fingers to her pale, warm cheek.

“Jade…” he whispered. “I can’t. This is different. I don’t like her. I… I hate her, actually. Well… it started that way.” Groaned frustratingly. “Gah! I don’t know how to explain this.”

“Okay, Freddie,” she gave him a challenging smirk, and settled more comfortably in his lap to put her full attention on him. “Surprise me. Start from the beginning.”

Freddie took a deep breath, and held on to her tightly, afraid that she would run away. And she likely would. If she actually did try, well… he’d cross that bridge when he came to it. “Fine. It started when mom and I started going door-to-door to say hello to our new neighbors…”

* * *

Samantha Puckett twiddled her thumbs in her seat, nervous. She looked swiftly around the mostly empty classroom, her hair hitting her cheek as she turned. She grimaced. It would take some getting used to.

And she wasn’t sure if it was worth it or not. She gulped nervously to herself. She hoped it was.

“Sam?” It was a sound of pure shock in the person’s voice, and she knew that voice well. She looked up to see Carly, her mouth open, her eyes widened in surprise.

“Hey, Carls,” Sam chuckled nervously. “Fancy seeing you here.”

The dark-haired girl walked forward and rested her books on the table. “Why are you here so early?”

Sam shrugged. “Just wanted a head-start on my day. Mom was being more annoying than usual. I had to get out of there.” She turned the tables. “And you? You’re usually racing the bell, too.”

Carly plopped down in the chair next to her, and rested her elbows on the table. “No one to talk to. I usually have you to entertain me for a few minutes before school starts.” She glanced over to Sam, and smiled at her new look. “Nice hair.”

The girl who usually didn’t bother to pay much attention to her looks, absently reached up and pulled at the blonde locks on her ponytail. “Really? It’s something new I’m trying out.”

Carly smiled softly at her friend, pleased that she was making an honest attempt of acting more like a girl. “I like it. It looks great.” Her nose wrinkled. “You shampooed it too?” Her disbelief came back.

Sam shrugged, yet again, with a small blush. “Mama likes to treat herself every now and then. I gotta do it sometime, right?”

Carly furrowed her brows a little. “Sam… does this have anything to do with, uh… Movie Night?” She refrained from saying Freddie’s name, specifically.

Sam hesitated with her words, even though she had prepared them ahead of time. “Carls, if you’re talking about Freddie, no. I’m not doing anything to interfere with you and Freddie. I’ve done that enough,” she chuckled nervously. At Carly’s skeptical expression, she continued. “I won’t be there, Carls. I have something I need to take care of.” She hated lying to Carly, so she added a little bit of truth to her lie. She really did have something she needed to do. She quickly changed the subject before her curious friend could ask. “Hey, where is the nub, anyway?”

He wasn’t around. She figured she could get the word out of her vocabulary soon, and what better way than purging it out at every opportunity? And it was helpful in this case, when she noticed Carly relaxing at the way she referred to him. Then she frowned. “I don’t think he’s going to be here today.”

She frowned, mirroring her best friend. “Why? The nub’s skipping school? And he didn’t invite us?”

She shook her head. “Apparently, he’s going back to his hometown for the weekend. That’s what Spencer told me, anyway.” She faced forward, missing Sam’s perplexed look. By this time, students had started to file into the classroom. She began to speak over the light noise. “No one was at his apartment when I checked. I guess he already left.”

“That’s… sad. You okay?”

She glanced back at Sam with a quirked eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be okay?”

Sam crossed her arms and tilted her head at her friend, unconvinced at her performance. “You were looking forward to it, Carly. You couldn’t talk about anything else all week.”

Carly cracked a smile, and shrugged her shoulders. “If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen. We’re neighbors. We can reschedule anytime. Besides… it wasn’t like it was an actual date.” Her smile sunk a little bit.

Sam wrapped her arm around the pale girl’s shoulders. “Exactly, Carls! It wasn’t a date. It’s not a rejection or anything.” She leaned in and whispered into her ear. “Tell you what. You and me. All weekend. Sleepovers, shopping, poking hobos. Hilarity ensues. Whaddya say?”

Her lips quirked again. “No hobo-poking, Sam.”

“I’ll pay them first,” Sam said enticingly, using her injured puppy look on her.

“Sam, that… might work,” she murmured to herself. She shook her head wildly. “No, Sam! It’s not right. Why don’t you just _give_ them the money?”

She shrugged, removing her arm from around Carly. “I don’t get anything out of it. If I’m pulling out my cash, it’s for entertainment or food.”

Carly sighed exasperatingly, but she was smiling. “Fine. For every hobo you give money to, you can poke me.”

Sam shook her head. “Not nearly as entertaining. Once, when I poked a hobo, he called me an alien, used an umbrella as a shield, and kicked at me. When I pretended to fall down, he proclaimed himself the king of France, and fell asleep.”

Carly blinked. “How… how is that… that actually _happened_?”

Sam nodded wisely. “The homeless; they have much to teach us, Carlotta. Their wise words mean nothing if you don’t take the time to listen.”

Carly looked seriously at her blonde friend. “Sam?”

“Yeah, Carls?”

“You will stop poking the homeless.”

“Aw, _dag_ , man!”

Carly smiled at her friend. She was just so… Sam. She needed that. While conversing with her friend in the last few minutes before the bell rang, her sadness of Freddie’s lack of appearance was dwindling.

Sam, on the other hand, tucked her fingers into the strands of her ponytail and stroked her hair, her curls bouncing away at each down stroke. She wondered what he was doing now… with that girl…

Jade, was it?

Her lip trembled as she tried to focus on Carly’s words. She rubbed her thighs together discreetly. Sam wasn’t sure she’d make it through the day. Tonight however… that would be _so_ worth it.

She amended her earlier thought. Yes, it _was_ worth it. All of it.

Samantha Puckett accepted her fate. She had been dominated by him, and she had submitted to him. And she had never felt so good before in her life.

She would figure out how to tell Carly about Jade later. She couldn’t let her best friend get in the middle of all of this, even though she firmly _was_. She resolved to herself to figure out a plan later.

But now, she had to figure out her own life, first. And she had no idea to go about doing that.

But the ponytail was a start. Hopefully.

* * *

Freddie wiggled his nose at a small ticking sensation. He opened his eyes, and winced at the light that shined into his room.

The first thing he really noticed was that he was late for school.

The second thing he noticed was that he had a _really_ good reason why.

Her porcelain-like skin shined beautifully from the sunlight, as she was wrapped in his arms. Her fingers were interlocked with his, resting on her bare stomach. The covers covered most of their naked bodies, but the skin she showed – from her long, smooth neck, to her flawless shoulder – was intoxicating.

He breathed onto her skin, and she shivered in her sleep. He smiled against her shoulder and pulled the covers around them firmly. He flipped her hair over to lay over her throat, exposing the back of her neck to his eyes.

He pressed his lips smoothly to her tantalizing nape, and his body reacted to him moving closer to her. He chuckled lightly to himself – he knew exactly where and how his hard-on was pressed against her, thanks to her shivering. It was just like it was back home, under the tree, across the playground. His eyes drooped a little, before he thought of something, and glanced back at the door. It was locked. And barricaded.

He smiled and turned back into Jade’s hair, kissing her neck once more before he closed his eyes, not noticing the slightly open window.

* * *

**Next Chapter:** All the moments you missed. Which probably means at least two sex scenes. But no promises. Those are really difficult to write, and to make… enticing, you could say.

Putting all of my author's notes in my blog, now. Because, let's face it, it's just too much. [Click here](http://wp.me/p3tC4P-4S).

 **Schneider-verse girls introduced so far, in order:** Sam, Carly, Jade, Dana (Zoey101, season 1).

Please, review. something as simple as ‘pretty good’ helps, because then I’ll know that I have some type of feedback. If you hate something, don’t forget to also mention what you like. Long chapters like this? Shorter Chapters? More Dana? Less Jade (that’s like asking for less Freddie, but alright...)? Once again, thank you all for your support.

On a side-note, this chapter was, on the whole, inspired by Jennette McCurdy’s song, **[Generation Love](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iy-OigqT-Xw)**. Give it a listen – it’s a country song I can stand, and that’s saying something.

I’m not done with this story, by the way. Not by a long-shot. So stay tuned :D

 


	4. Submission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picture the movie Downfall, but on a significantly smaller scale. This is the story of the submission of Samantha Puckett.

**Author’s Note:** One thing I can’t stand when I read a fantastic story, is when it takes a sudden wrong turn and takes a path that I am firmly against. To a slight few of you, that may have been when I introduced Jade into my own story. I’m well aware of the Freddie/Sam fans who have wandered in here, and I will admit that while that pairing isn’t on my favorites list after watching the show again, I will remember my euphoric feelings fondly.

And I meant what I said in the first chapter, in the ending author’s notes: Both girls aren’t particularly kind to Freddie most of the time, so I nipped it in the bud before it could really take form, and see how the characters interacted after that.

Then Jade came along. Not out of the blue, of course. She was a favorite character of mine, What Sam would have been in a post anti-bullying era. I’m always a fan of good violence – just not against my favorite characters.

So, if Jade isn’t your cup of tea, I’m sorry. I really tried on this relationship, which I think is pretty unique, and I have no idea how the majority would respond until it’s out there. Luckily for me, there’s been staggering support, and I thank all of you for the positive reception.

This story will be balancing Freddie/Jade AND Freddie/Sam, and I hope you enjoy both.

So, here’s the continuation of the series.

* * *

Samantha Puckett’s fist impacted the wall for the twelfth time, stopping once again to reconsider her thoughts. She winced at the contact with the reinforced drywall; she had been feeling it since the seventh punch, but Sam, ever the trooper, kept punching away. Once upon a time, it was all she ever knew when it came to stress relief.

‘ _Simpler times,_ ’ she mused silently. She tenderly rubbed her knuckles, before pressing downwards. She only had one more flight of stairs to go before she reached the lobby.

She could have probably taken the elevator, but she ultimately hadn’t for two reasons. For one, she wasn’t in a hurry to go home. Her mom was probably there around this time, probably with some skunk bag, defiling the place in some new, creative way. Since Pam, her mother, always kept the ‘action’ in her own room, Sam wouldn’t have to see it, but she didn’t want to walk into those _sounds_ any sooner than she had to.

She shuddered at the thought. Not at the wayward thought of her mother being a screamer, but as she had found out earlier in the week, she herself was more of the silent type.

The second reason: she had a lot of thinking to do. And she had been doing that too damn much this week. Far too much for her liking, actually. In fact, her brain was starting to cramp when thinking about how much she was thinking.

All because of Freddie Benson.

Her eye twitched, and she stopped. Her fist thumped against the wall. Thirteen. ‘ _Ouch._ ’

Still, the pain had its merits. It distracted her from her thoughts; if only for a moment.

And when the pain numbed, she was back in focus again.

Sam was, if she could be honest with herself, confused. She was majorly and utterly confused. She had no idea what she wanted anymore, or what was best for her, or what she wanted to happen next. The past week for her was a jumble of emotions. Most of it was anger, of course. She was mostly angry at herself, which confused her even more. She knew who she _should_ have been angry at. The one that made her feel… anything in the past few days.

Freddie.

Fourteen. She cried out loud at the impact, and held her tender knuckles to her chest. That was a particularly hard punch, and it felt like it.

She almost chuckled at the ironic thought that surfaced. If anything, the wall was starting to remind her of Freddie. She punched it, and it punched back, so hard, that she didn’t know how to respond.

Sam wasn’t sick – she knew the difference between right and wrong. Carly and Maria, Carly’s mom, had taught her the difference when she truly _didn’t_ know. And she had taken some of those lessons to heart. However, there were some times she wished she never did. She loved Carly dearly, and her best friend’s mother was like the mother she always wanted, but they would never know the power she once had – the control she once harbored, over others, and herself. They had seen examples of it, but they could never truly _see_ it like she saw it.

There was a time when she was _worse_ ; when she was _king_. (Yes, king. More power in that title. ‘Queen’ sounds too girly.) She ruled the school. Hell, she ruled juvenile hall. From breaking the thumbs of the fat topless kid that asked her to prom, to her roomie in juvie making a comment about ‘breaking off a piece of that white bitch’ when Carly’s mom hand-delivered food to her during recess. At the end of the day, when she was finished, she thanked the dark-skinned girl for making that comment. She was feeling antsy that day, as Mrs. Shay’s food usually did that to her. She needed an outlet.

She was given solitary for that. She never saw that girl again, either.

She _ruled_.

And then came Freddie.

Her fingers twitched again, and she winced at the phantom pain. Perhaps punching the wall again wasn’t the _best_ idea.

She groaned loudly, holding her injured hand to herself. If it swelled, she would have to go back to Carly’s to get some ice. But she didn’t want Mrs. Shay asking any questions. She could sneak in, but it still ran the risk of running into _him_ again.

It was an easy decision. She had ice at home.

And she had yet another reason to hate him – the way he manipulated her every move, and gave her so much _fear_ of him, and she just… she just couldn’t…

**_*BLAM*_ **

She wobbled on her feet, holding her forehead with her palm, and stumbled away from the large hole – the more observant would notice _head-sized_ hole – in the wall.

Sam did not want to be around for Lubert to see that. Still, she felt much better. Might get a headache later, but it might feel better than the one she had previously. Someone might ask questions if she got any plaster in her hair, but she’d cross that bridge when she got to it.

The much calmer blonde lumbered into the lobby, looking around to see if anyone was there. There was Lubert, _of course_ , yelling at someone on the phone. She had no idea how he didn’t get fired at his job, but she was seriously considering taking his place once that mole on his face spread to a point where he looked like a giant hairy meatball.

The girl leaned against the wall for a moment to wait for Lubert to turn around, before kicking off towards the entrance.

She passed through the revolving doors, and paused at the night surrounding her. Streetlamps lit her way, and cars flashed in her eyes with their bright headlights. She wasn’t expecting it to be this late. The sky was still a dark blue, and not black, so it wasn’t too late, but it was disconcerting compared to when she usually got home.

Sam shrugged, unconcerned. Whatever. Maybe Pam would be done with her boy-toy by the time she got home?

Shaking her legs out, and regretting that she threw away that fatcake, she began the relatively short trek home.

“Change, ma’am?” A girl asked quietly, and Sam stopped her pace abruptly. She glanced down at a pair of girls who looked _far_ too young to be homeless, sitting against the wall; an Altoids tin rattling in the left one’s hands.

She grimaced minutely. Normally, she wouldn’t have given a glance, but then she made the mistake of making eye-contact.

She dug into her pocket, making a show to reach some change and about to feign ignorance, when she saw the girl’s frown turn into a hopeful smile, sitting up a little straighter, her small fingers holding the can a little more delicately.

She groaned silently and pulled out a dollar, uncomfortably looking away, and gently poked the bill into the tin.

“Thank you,” the girl whispered, and the girl beside her simply nodded, her eyelashes shining.

“Have a nice night,” she muttered awkwardly, walking off without another glance.

A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she abruptly turned into the corner.

It might have been a trick of the light, but… she stuck her head out, and grimaced at the sight.

The girl who was undoubtedly wearing makeup over her eyes was under the streetlamp, accepting the can from the black-haired girl.

“I can’t believe we just did that. Did you really have to?” the makeup girl wondered, but Sam could see the smile on her face.

The girl with the black hair shrugged. “I said I’d pay you back. I called a _lot_ of Marissa Bensons to get to this place.”

The hooded girl shrugged back, pouring the change directly into her coat pocket. “I told you it was alright. How often do you do that, anyway?”

“I don’t like owing people favors, and it just came to me. Either way, you just got back free money.”

“And yet,” she pulled her hood off her head, showing her shiny golden tresses under the lamplight, “you get twenty extra minutes to think about what you’re about to do.”

The ebony-haired girl shook her head. “No, I know what I’m going to do. Thanks for indulging me, Dana.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” The girl identified as Dana asked, obviously concerned for her friend. “At least to check if it’s the right place.”

Sam could see her green highlights as it swayed again across her shoulders, trapped in a ponytail. “This is it. It has to be. The only thing he knew about this place was that he lived in an apartment building. This was the only Marissa in an apartment building, that didn’t pick up.” She took a deep breath. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come with me, especially if she’s there. I’m putting my ass on the line, and I don’t want you anywhere near me if I get caught. That’s why I had to fake an accent calling all those people. Marissa should be at work.” She looked genuinely worried, but determined, nonetheless.

Dana pulled back some strands from her face and waved her hand for an upcoming taxi down the street. “Good luck, Jade. Go get your man.”

Even from the alley, she could see girl try to hide her expression on her pale features. “He’s not my man!”

She said nothing, merely grinning as she waited for her taxi, humming a tune to herself.

Jade seemed to recognize the tune, and hid her face in her hands. “I hate you so much.”

“I look forward to my sappy hate song you’ve got queued up for me,” Dana laughed, opening the door to the car that just pulled up. “I’ll be back tomorrow!”

The other girl made some kind of sound that Sam couldn’t hear, and the car drove off.

And then Jade was alone. She looked up at the well-to-do building, taking it all in, before she quickly ran inside, as if she was forcing herself not to go anywhere else.

Sam walked back out of the alley, and looked down the empty street.

What the fuck just happened?

* * *

Jade found herself in what she deemed the most comfortable position in the world, with the most amazing person in the world. And, at this point in her life, she would actually say that out loud.

A month was a long time, and making up for that time was priority.

She had made the decision on the plane, and had not faltered in her choice, to be the _girl_ this weekend. She was not naïve – she would have to return eventually, at least by Tuesday. That gave her four days, and five nights. Away from family, friends, and anyone aware of her reputation.

It really was just her and Freddie, surrounded by a pool of strangers. It was what she had always wanted. No Ice Queen Persona. No embarrassing moments that led to embarrassing questions.

And maybe, this was the push that she needed. Even in private, she was a tough shell to crack, as Freddie would likely attest to. It was just what she was used to. The game that they played.

The ‘game’ that almost lost them their entire friendship, never mind their relationship.

“I’m sorry.”

Freddie’s head snapped quickly to his right. “Sorry? For what?”

“For what happened in my… at my place. Before you left.”

He furrowed his brows. “What happened? Did you do something wrong?” A sickening thought seeped into his mind. “Did you… regret it?”

Her arms, still wrapped around his neck, gripped tighter. “Is it sad that I figured you would say that? That somehow, you’d blame _yourself_ for _my_ fuckups? Freddie, I will never regret a moment of what we did. It was me. I sent you _home_ , Freddie. Who the fuck does that after… who does that ever!? You were just the sweetest, most patient… I don’t know much about it, but I imagine my first time would be shit if it was anyone but you.”

Freddie blinked a few times in surprise. “Uh… thanks. You, too.”

Her lips quirked. “As far as I’m concerned, I was shit. It was just too much to deal with, even for me. I was just afraid of the… of the vulnerability. So I kicked you out before you could see it. I just felt like I needed to be alone for the rest of the night. For some reason. It’s all just so stupid and selfish. So I’m sorry.”

The brunet could only respond, for a moment with a shrug. He was just used to it – it was Jade, after all. Then he tried to think of something else that he could say, for her sake; a lack of reaction was not what she needed right now. “If it helps, I could promise not to look next time. You made it up to me, when you hugged me at the airport – with tears. I’d never really seen you like that since my parents’ divorce.”

“I was bawling my freaking eyes out,” she thought with a smile, oddly enough. She turned to sit on his lap regularly, as they had done before they started dating, to look out at the Seattle Lights. “Of course you can look. Do you know how therapeutic that was for me? Freddie, I needed that. I’ve been beating myself up ever since that night, and that hug helped. If this is gonna work, feelings have to be said, and _shared_. And I gotta tell you; I hate that.” She turned her neck to look up at him. “But you make it tolerable.”

Freddie saw her teasing smile, her shining eyes, and, not for the first time, wondered what he ever did to deserve this girl.

It confused and disturbed him. Especially after all he had just told her. “I don’t mean to break the moment, but…” he fidgeted with his fingers wrapped around her slim waist, looking down at his fidgeting digits over her shoulder. “You never said anything about the, err… other thing.”

“Oh – you mean the bitch?”

Jade has, obviously, sworn before. It was no news to Freddie, to his chagrin – some things may never change. However, the smile still on her lips and the shine still in her eyes was the real surprise. “Jade?”

“You are the sweetest, most innocent guy I know,” Jade iterated. “Which _should_ piss me off to no end, but you pull it off pretty well. If _she_ can make you snap, then imagine what I would’ve done to her by now.” She licked her lips. “You’d need a hell of an imagination.”

“That… that wasn’t the reaction I expected.”

“Well, I wasn’t expecting your reaction to mine, so we’re even.”

He blinked a few times in confusion, and she sighed. “I’ll say it as many times as I need to. We’ve done this for eight years. I’ve always been on your side. I’m not backing out now. Besides,” she teased, “I’ve talked you into so much trouble over the years, I get to miss you commit a damn near _felony_ and you think I’m out?”

“This is seriously not happening,” Freddie murmured to himself, and Jade laughed out loud. “You’re defending me for something so indefensible, Jade!”

“Did she or did she not throw a pair of scissors at you?” She asked in a curious tone, but he could see something more sinister behind her calm demeanor.

Freddie hesitated; he had told the entire story truthfully, not wanting to leave any details out, for some sort of vindication from Jade by his actions. Now, under the circumstances, he felt more inclined to protect Sam. “Um, yeah, she did.”

She smirked a devious smirk, one that Freddie grew to pity whoever it was directed towards. “That bitch will learn what a true wielder of scissors can do.”

Freddie rolled his eyes. “Jade, I caught them.”

“And if you didn’t?” She demanded, all joking thrown aside in an instant. Freddie knew that she was angry, and was doing a good job of hiding it. “She could have killed you, Freddie. For once in your life, you stuck up for yourself, and you’re ashamed of it? _Fuck_ her! In any meaning you see fit! The crime fit the punishment! I would have _killed_ her, Freddie. Expect no sympathy from _me,_ for that _bitch_.”

She spoke with so much venom, so much barely repressed outrage, Freddie almost had to agree with her.

He felt no desire to tell her how well they got along afterwards. “She’s not too bad, now.”

She snorted unintentionally. “I imagine she _did_. She learned her lesson. She pulls that shit off again – I swear, Freddie, if she gives you any more trouble, I’ll shove those scissors in and show her what scissoring _really_ means!”

Freddie knew he shouldn’t encourage her. He knew he should shoot her down, and be the best discouragement he could whenever she was like this.

He knew that.

And yet, he laughed.

“That visual,” he claimed, chuckling against her neck, and she would have felt the tingle if she weren’t feeling so smug at winning him over. “That’s just wrong. But it’s a funny visual.”

She leaned back into his chest. “I knew you would see things my way.”

Freddie could only shake his head incredulously. “I just couldn’t take it anymore. She’s kind of unrelenting – she never gave up when it came to me. Just these constant putdowns and abuse. I… the second I showed a weakness, she almost went back to what she was.”

The brunet sounded like he had more to say, and she just stayed quiet, listening. She was a good listener – and at this point, she was just happy he was talking about being the predator, for once. “She’s a good person, I think. Therapy was beyond her. You should see her criminal record. Maybe, if things went any differently, she’d be in juvie again.”

“And she’d come right back out looking for you.”

He smirked half-heartedly. “My point. I’m sure as hell not putting out a restraining order. I have a life I need to live in Seattle, and looking like a victim is just a repeat of what I’ve always been.” He paused. “It sucks to try to justify it, but I can’t help but think I’m right.”

Jade nodded. “Yeah, I can see that. I know it’s justified, but I can see that.” She turned her head to him. “So. Should I be worried? I know I shouldn’t be surprised, by how often I take charge – working on it, by the way – but it sounds like you got a crush on her. I can only imagine that she looks _gewd_.”

He shook his head immediately. “It’s more complicated than that. She’s certainly got nothing on you. I like the nice version of her, but I can see where that’s going. Her mean side is just too much.” He shrugged. “Doesn’t matter, anyways. She’s not worth my time. She made her choice today to stay away from me.”

She hmmed. “And you think she will?”

He closed his eyes and rested his chin on her shoulder. “Gave her an ultimatum. She can’t accept that she liked what I did to her. More than I enjoyed it, really.”

Jade pouted. She had wanted to see what the girl looked like. “You’re neighbors with her best friend, so I’m sure she’ll have a lot of time to think about it. Whatever. Hope she wallows in her own despair until she starts cutting. Or mess with you again, while I’m around.”

Freddie didn’t know how to respond to that. He really didn’t. So he switched topics. “And what about… the other thing?”

She pursed her lips. “I’m only here for a weekend. As much as we can pretend that everything can go back to normal… with a few benefits,” a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth, “we can’t. I need to get back by Tuesday – morning at the latest. Mom sends her love, by the way.” Plausible deniability. If she got in trouble for skipping school to travel to another state by assuming another name with a stranger her age… then at least Freddie could be ignorant about it. “So, for the weekend, I’m yours, and you’re mine, Twenty-four Seven. I’ll be staying at a friend’s house while Mama Benson’s around and while you’re at school.”

Freddie chortled close to her ear, and Jade jumped. “Sorry. What? School? If you really think I’m going to school, then there’s _really_ something wrong with the _both_ of us. This is our weekend, Jade. I know your mom doesn’t know. We’re in a lot of trouble right now, especially if she figures out where you are and decides to call my mom. Let’s make the most out of it.”

Jade felt a tear coming on. She fucking loved this dude.

And it gave her courage to say her next statement. “So, for the next four days, you’re mine, and I’m yours. But after that… while we are prepared for long-distance this time, and I’ll try to avoid fountains, I don’t know how long the fallout will be. She won’t let me out of her sight for maybe months. And Mama Benson, if she finds out, will just put a live-streaming camera on a helmet and strap it to your head. So the likelihood of us seeing each other, of even being allowed to _talk_ to each other, will be nil.”

He nodded, understanding. He was still trying to figure out what that had to do with the other thing.

“So… anything that happens, happens. I can’t be around, so why should we put our life on hold?”

Freddie froze. She couldn’t be saying what he thought she was saying. “Jade?”

“I’m not breaking up with you. We are _NOT_ breaking up. You’re mine, Freddie. Your newly discovered spine isn’t gonna change that.” She smiled as the lights Seattle Needle turned on at the top of the building. “But monogamy’s overrated. This isn’t a fairy tale. People have outlets, and you’ve probably got a lot of frustration to burn. It’s how your parents messed up, right?”

He was still lost. “So… you’re… expecting me to cheat? Now that I know you never hated me, and I just said I’m never leaving you again?”

She clicked her tongue. “No. You’re too nice for that. I’m giving you permission.” She squeezed his hands before he could protest. “You’re trying to carve a life out here, Freddie. Pining for me isn’t going to do that. You think I haven’t noticed their descriptions you told me? Carly and Sam? One of them is pale with black hair who is kind to you and the other is a self-proclaimed badass with a temper who likes to put you down. The deep psychological pathways I could go down with that should _frighten_ the both of us, Freddie. That’s _me_. That’s _all_ me!”

Sometimes, Jade gave herself too much credit. Freddie knew, deep inside, that this was not one of those times. “In case you haven’t figured it out, Jade, I think I have a crush on you.”

Jade relaxed into his embrace. “I love you too, you dope.”

He smiled softly. “Beats Nub, I guess.” He bit his lip, trying to decide whether to say it or not. “So, I guess there isn’t a guy in LA who reminds you of me? To be _your_ outlet?”

The black-haired girl opened her eyes, not sure when she closed them. “Uh… it’s a girl, actually, that reminds me of you the most. Really quirky. Kinda got a free spirit vibe. She was a new student – sat at my table at lunch the first day because she thought I was a loser who had no friends. She actually said that to me.”

“Oh really?” He sounded amused.

“She was genuine. Innocent little girl. Didn’t feel like punching her in the face. She was right. I didn’t have any friends. We became quick friends over the last month. She was the only person I told before I left.” Now that Freddie knew her mother was ignorant of the entire situation, the cover story was moot. “She hooked me up. She’s a sucker for fairy tales and happy endings.”

“Is that the friend you said you would stay over at?” He wondered, still confused over that statement. “Didn’t you say something about a girl sending that message for you?”

She shook her head, her ponytail falling off her shoulder. “She said I looked really familiar to another friend she had at her old school, and called her up. Another friend of hers, Dana, was already planning a trip to Seattle. So she decided to leave a little early, and brought her doppelganger friend’s Student ID with her. Apparently, at Pacific Coast, students can fly with no parental supervision. That paper has to be signed off before they can even attend. Rich people, huh?”

Freddie blinked in surprise. “Wow. A lot of things worked in your favor.”

“Catherine’s favor,” she gently corrected him. “You should’ve seen the Skype call. Everyone was crowded around that webcam – at least eight people. This was not outside the realm of believability for these people for a mission. Rich people get into crazy shit. They even told her that there was a Jet-X waiting for her when she came back to visit.”

He blinked a few times. Those were expensive. “Wow,” was all he could say.

“Yup. Anyway, they all arranged it in like an hour and she helped me pack and sent me on my way to the airport. She’s pretty annoying at times, but… who would do that for someone after knowing them for under a month?” She smirked. “I’m awesome.”

He chuckled. “So you’ll be staying at Dana’s house?”

“Yup. To her parents, I’m just a student at her school who came down to see a friend, but, due to some circumstances, my own parents won’t let me in the house. Sympathy points.”

“Circumstances?” He questioned curiously.

“I’m gay.”

Freddie snorted. “I guess that would work.”

“I don’t know if I should take that as an insult.”

“We’ve certainly been called that over the years enough. I guess we fit the bill, appearance-wise. You know, besides the _sitting on my lap_ thing.”

“What was it that one councilor said? We feel _safe_ around each other, because neither of us judges and uses each other as a _shield_?”

Freddie bristled. “I can’t believe mom made me do that. Because she thought I was gay!”

Jade let out a melodious chuckle. “She doesn’t have to do a boner check when she sits on your lap every day. You gotta give her some leeway. I’m, apparently, a well-known dyke.”

He rolled his eyes. “Jade…” he warned.

“Oh, relax, I’m allowed to say that.”

“Really? As opposed to all those other times you said it? What changed?”

She was silent for a few moments. “Honestly – I think it’s because I might be gay.”

Freddie was silent for a few moments. “And yet, you’re attracted to me?”

“Extremely.”

“Now _I’m_ insulted.”

She turned her head to face him. “Freddie, the entire time we’ve been sitting here, I’ve felt _that_ poking against my butt. If I’m implying that you’re too girly, that’d be implying that I’m too manly.”

He unlinked his hands and made a show of tracing his fingers up her sides, making her breath hitch. “Not a chance.”

She turned her legs to the side again, and wrapped her arms around his neck. “And from what I remember before you left, you’re not exactly unequipped for the job.”

He leaned down to peck her on the lips, and she moaned belatedly. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. Now, why did you just tell me my girlfriend is a lesbian?”

She rolled her eyes. “See your point, got it. It’s… it’s Catherine. Cat. She makes me feel like you did. And it’s not just her. It’s Dana, too. I don’t have many girlfriends, but I don’t think the first thing you notice is how hot they are, and how you want to sit on _their_ laps sometimes.”

Freddie hummed, visualizing. “I want to be jealous, but I’m not.”

“Because you’re a dude.”

“But I am possessive.” He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her tighter, making her squeak. So cute. “I don’t share, Jade.”

“Me neither,” she breathed. “Look how that turned out.”

He grimaced. “So you get a free pass? That’s not fair. I thought you hated me.”

“And you thought stupidly,” she countered. “I’m a good actress, Freddie. Not a method actress. I’ve been _me_ the whole time I’ve known you. I just tend to try to hide certain parts of me. This weekend, you get the full Jade experience.”

Freddie’s mind went to some dangerous places, and his _distraction_ twitched noticeably enough that the girl in his arms laughed. “I think you like that.”

“You think stupidly,” he grinned. “I _love_ it.”

“I’m starting to appreciate that word more and more again,” she whispered, spinning around to rest her knees on either side, straddling him. “That ‘L’ word. Say it again.”

“Love you,” he smiled, ducking in to kiss her again.

“Yup,” she moaned as they released. “Totally worth it. I’m glad I dropped that TekMate.”

“I’m glad you dropped it, too,” Freddie reaffirmed, gently reaching up to touch her ponytail. “Though I wish I saw this sooner.”

“Mood killer,” she grinned, reaching up to pull at the band that held her hair up. “I knew you would say something about it.”

“And you just waited until I said something before you got rid of it.”

She shook her head, with the added effect of fanning out her green-tipped hair beautifully. “Nah,” she shortly quipped, “I found out a month ago that I like to keep my hair down when I turn into a freak. You mind?”

He tilted his head. “I suppose I don’t. Gonna have to make it up to me.”

“Confident teasing; I like this Freddie. Not the same one I fell for, though.”

“You love this Freddie,” he countered, smirking as he kissed her again.

She tightened her arms around his neck. She did. And she’d make sure he loved this Jade.

* * *

There was more than one Benson residence in the apartment, she told herself. There had to be. She didn’t even know Freddie’s mom’s name. She was just some insane psychopath who was too OCD to actually kill anyone, in Sam’s eyes. She didn’t even look like a Marissa. And that girl certainly didn’t look like someone Marissa would know. She didn’t look gothic, per se, but she looked like she was on the precipice of joining the wrong crowd. At least, in Sam’s eyes.

And it damn sure didn’t look like someone Freddie knew.

By the time she climbed the steps all the way to the eighth floor, she was fully convinced that Freddie simply had an older, cooler brother.

Pocketing the hairpin after making sure the door was open, Sam tip-toed quietly inside.

The fatcakes were there, untouched and forgotten. The apron that he wore was hung on the oven door. The stove was off. Further inspection told her that it was cold.

Interesting. So he had cooked the fatcakes for her, and when she made the choice to leave, he didn’t even bother to put them up? Or throw them away?

He was distracted. Distracted by… a call downstairs? Lubert?

She was jumping to conclusions, and she knew it. And while a part of her wondered why she even cared, an even bigger part, _needed_ to know, and just _had_ to find out.

She retraced her steps, remembering where she slept after Freddie knocked her out earlier that afternoon. Passing through the kitchen and dining room, she stealthily snuck into the hallway and waited for any sounds.

Nothing. The lights were all off in the house. Walking to the back of the room, she could even see that his bed was empty. Untouched, as she herself had left it when she awoke.

How was that possible? He hadn’t left the apartment, she was just outside the lobby. Had he taken the elevator while she was taking the stairs? Had he met that other girl downstairs and they went out together?

Even as she was asking herself that question, she dismissed it. It was _Freddie_ she was thinking about. _Freddie._ Just the idea that he would have someone like her attracted to him, or even want him hanging out in her social circles, made her realize that she may have a concussion. It was bad enough that she was in this room, caring, and that her best friend –

A feeling of dread hit the pit of her stomach. Carly’s apartment. He had to be there.

She was crossing the threshold to the door when the balcony door slid open.

Sam did her best impression of a deer in headlights as Freddie’s and an all-too-familiar girl’s eyes landed on her. The jokester part of her felt akin to bigfoot as he looked at the camera, stalking across a field.

Oh, how she wished they would never see her again at that moment if she could make it to the door.

Before she could move an inch, the girl she knew as Jade wrenched her hand out of his and ran forward.

Her head impacted hard for the third time that day.

* * *

Freddie let out a sigh he didn’t know he was holding. “She’s not bleeding, at least.”

“I can fix that.”

Freddie held back a smirk. “Down, Jade. She’s not a threat.”

“What was she doing here,” she questioned. “And how did she get in here? Does she have a key?”

Freddie quickly checked her pockets, and pulled out a bent out hairpin. “As close as a key she’ll ever get to my place.”

She growled as she closed the left-open apartment door. “I’m going to fix this damaged bitch.”

Freddie hoisted her up into his arms for the second time. “I guess now’s a good as time as any to tell you what my ultimatum was.”

Jade took one look at the way Freddie was carrying the blonde, and decided that she didn’t like it. “Fireman’s carry, Freddie. This isn’t a honeymoon.”

Freddie smirked. “You offering?”

She tilted her head to the side. “There’s cake.” She frowned. “And it doesn’t look like she ate any. Didn’t you tell me you were cooking those for her? What was she here for, then?”

“Me,” he shrugged, slowly maneuvering her to hang over his shoulder. “I guess. I did tell her that if she ever wanted to take me out, she knew where I lived. Maybe she wants to follow through?”

Jade was already shaking her head. “Nah. She’s too nice for that. It’s probably got more to do with me.”

Now Freddie was confused. “What? She knows you?”

She crossed her arms, her denim jacket hung on her forearm. “I met her just before I went to see you. She was coming out of the building, and I was asking for a dollar to pay back Dana.” She grumbled a bit. “I don’t know why she would come back up. Maybe she saw through my ruse?”

Freddie’s eyebrows rose. “Ruse?”

Even in the darkness, her blush rose above her pale cheeks. “It’s complicated. I pretended to be a hobo.”

“Not that complicated….”

Jade moved forward, and Freddie stumbled back, before quickly maneuvering to place the girl on her feet. She wobbled in his grasp as he held her by the waist. “Sam? You alright?”

She grasped at her head. “Fuck, that hurt. Does she play football?”

Jade chuckled from right behind her, and she froze. “A lot of self-defense lessons. What do you want?”

Sam knew she was in no mood to fight. “I want a fatcake, then I want to talk to Freddie.”

Jade clicked her tongue. “I have a better idea.”

* * *

It was a day of repetivity for Sam, and it was a repetitiveness that she wasn’t fond of. For the second time today, she found herself laid in Freddie’s bed.

In an act of caring that Sam refused to believe that he was capable of, Freddie made her promise to lie down on his bed so he could check for a concussion. She agreed to stay quiet throughout with a fatcake.

With a grimace, and maybe it was the hopefully misdiagnosed concussion talking, but she had to admit that this was the best damn fatcake she had ever tasted.

Only one company made fatcakes, and she understood that there was only one other fatcake she had ever tried. That being said, they produced the _worst_ fatcakes she had ever consumed, in comparison to what she was eating now. And this one didn’t even have coconut shavings on it.

Her only compliment when Freddie asked was – “At least it’s not pink.”

Freddie’s lips twitched. “Yeah, she’s alright.”

“Good.” Jade plopped down next to Sam, who innocently continued eating. “So,” she inquired, “how do you know my boyfriend?”

Her eyes sparkled at Freddie, who smiled confidently. “He’s neighbors with my best friend, Carly.”

“Oh?” she raised an eyebrow. “Then how do you consider him close enough to break into his house? Do you do that to all of her friends?”

She chewed a bit more before she took a big gulp. “No. Just curious as to why he has pretend-hobos for friends.”

Freddie leaned against the wall, arms crossed. “I do wonder about that….”

The pale girl waved it off. “I don’t make a habit out of it. We’re even, now. You gave me a dollar, and you followed that up by breaking into someone’s home. Your karma meter is back to empty.”

Sam tilted her head. “Yeah,” she grinned, “not so much. We still have a score to settle.”

Jade tilted her head to the other side. “Yes?”

“I believe it was ‘Fix this broken bitch,’ you said?”

Jade nodded, nonplussed. “In my defense, I had no idea how broken you were.”

Sam’s mask of faux innocence dropped, and she scowled. “Excuse me?”

Jade looked around. “Well, considering all that’s happened in the past week, you should probably be at home in the fetal position, scarred at what life has dealt your way, while Freddie should be in custody. Don’t get me wrong,” she said with a smile, seeing the blonde’s wide eyes and slacked jaw, “I like how things have turned out. You’ve finally recognized that you were a bigger monster than Freddie ever was, and that was the wake-up call you needed.”

“You…” she looked back and forth between Freddie and Jade. “You two….”

Jade shrugged. “I’m what you call one of those understanding girlfriends. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve pushed him around a lot over the years. I’m willing to bet that if he never knew me, he probably would’ve never snapped at you.”

Freddie rolled his eyes. “You were never _that_ bad.”

“That’s what he says,” she dismissed.

“W-Wait! Hold on! You’re telling me that she _knows_ you _raped_ me!” She made a move to stand up, but she was forcefully pulled back down by the ebony-haired girl. “Get off of me!”

Surprisingly, she did. Sam quickly rolled away from her and stood up at the foot of the bed. She eyed the two with disdain. “You’re both crazy!”

The two were quiet for a moment. Then Jade spoke. “So report us.”

Sam stood stock still. “W-What?”

Freddie uncrossed his arms and stepped closer to Sam, who flinched, but didn’t back down. “We’re probably crazy, Sam. I’ve been through this with you, and I’ve been through this with Jade. We’re messed up. But… so are you. And you just can’t admit it yet. Why are you here if you don’t want to be around me anymore? For a dollar?”

Jade spun her body around to sit cross-legged on the bed. “I’m not speaking for every girl out there, but you seem like a pretty strong, independent person from what I’ve heard. You’ve taken charge and dominated everyone you’ve ever met your entire life. There’s really only one person who has had complete and total control over you, and from what it sounds like, she doesn’t mean much to you, nor does she care about you.”

“She doesn’t own me!” Sam snarled. “You don’t own me! You two – ”

“Enough, Sam!”

None of the three were really expecting a quiet room after Freddie’s order, but it’s what met them. An uncharacteristically quiet Sam closed her eyes in shame, seeing no point in arguing after instinctually shutting her mouth.

She wanted to shut up. She wanted to immediately after he told her to. She… a part of her liked it. The tone in his voice, it… it made her want to agree to everything he said.

It reminded her of how she treated other people. She told them to shut up, they shut up. It’s just what they did.

It’s just what she did.

Freddie sighed tiredly. “I’ve treated you well since day one. I’ve been nothing but nice to you, and you’ve done nothing but constantly insult me. You were planning on breaking my arm before I had enough. I want you to answer me honestly, Sam. Why did you do what you did to me? Why did you constantly put me down and threaten and beat me? What did I ever do to you, before I did what I did?”

“Because of Carly.”

It wasn’t Sam who answered, but Jade. The blonde looked up, blinking in surprise. “That’s it. Isn’t it?”

Sam didn’t know how to respond. Neither did Freddie. “I made the offer to her to never mess with either of them again.” He turned back to the conflicted teen. “Why did you break back into my apartment?”

Once again, it was Jade who answered. “She knows why, but she won’t admit it. It’s Carly, isn’t it? I miscalculated. It’s not your _mom_ who controls you. It’s Carly. She’s your best friend. She’s your rock. She’s everything to you.”

She said nothing. Jade intended to fill the silence. “You saw Freddie as a threat. Sure, there were scumbags and people not right for Carly asking her out constantly. Yeah, Freddie told me about the note.” Sam didn’t know why she flinched when she said that. “You knew they were all a passing fascination. But you saw something else in Freddie.”

“Wait,” Sam blurted, “you know about him asking out _Carly_ , too?!”

Jade frowned. “We were going through some issues. It’s all cleared up, now. Unlike you and Carly.”

Sam’s fists tightened. “What the _fuck_ are you implying?”

Jade smirked a devilish smirk. “I’m telling you that you like her.”

Sam was quiet for a few seconds. “So what?”

Jade was unperturbed in her lack of reaction. “But something changed.”

That was when the fear really started to show up in her blue eyes. “ _Nothing_ changed.”

Jade took a cautious step closer. “Yeah, it did. Freddie changed.” She showed her teeth as she smiled. “And he fucking _owned_ you.”

Even Freddie winced as he prepared to jump in the way of the oncoming onslaught. His eyes imagined a myriad of pain, destruction, and a rather embarrassing 3-digit phone call in a few minutes.

However, what the blonde did next surprised all three of them.

She laughed.

“Yeah,” she admitted after a full fifteen seconds of chuckling. “He did. He really did.”

Jade clicked her tongue. “And I’m the crazy one?”

Sam grinned at Freddie. “I can accept when I’m beaten. Right now, at least. You two want to play crazy? Fine. You had me. You owned me. I. Was. Yours.”

“No,” Freddie responded. He expelled a big breath, and sucked in his teeth. “You _are_ mine.” He took a step forward, matching his distance with his girlfriend. “I’m tired of you turning back and forth, Sam. Make a choice. You’re either sick of me and and I’m sick of you, or we go back to being friends.” He stepped closer, and she felt herself shudder, as she always did when he was close.

But she wasn’t afraid. If anything, she was anticipating his touch.

And maybe, that in itself was what should have made her afraid. But she wasn’t.

“I have a better idea,” she whispered, her voice meek, and it was a strange sound to Freddie. But not unpleasant.

“Yeah?” he wondered, stepping closer. Soon, they were barely a foot away, him looking down minutely into the inches-shorter blonde’s eyes.

“You leave Carly alone. Just stay away from her. And I’ll do… I’ll…” she took a deep breath. “You can have me.”

Jade crossed her arms. “Did you forget I was here?”

Sam sniffed. “You obviously don’t care.”

Jade strode forward and before Sam could do anything, grabbed her by her hair and yanked her forward. “I obviously do,” she breathed, bright teal eyes staring into dilated blue eyes. “You think Carly is _your_ world? You don’t have a fucking clue how much he means to me. You think you can just sucker him in like that – with me just _standing_ here!?”

Sam gulped hard. “I meant it.”

“No – you didn’t. You’re offering up a sacrifice, but for how long? Until he falls for you instead of Carly? Until Carly loses interest? And then what?” Her breath was hot against her nose, and Sam closed her eyes in shame. “No. You’re his. End of discussion.” She growled those last words before turning her head to the side, Sam holding no resistance. Her lips pressed against the surrendering blonde’s ear. “And if you’re not, you’re _mine_.”

Freddie gently pressed his hand on her shoulder. “Threatening won’t help, Jade.”

She turned her head back to Freddie. “Babe, it’s what I’m good at. Hold on.”

“She’s doing a decent job,” Sam grinned nervously, “but personally, randomly yanking the hair works to emphasize the point. Breathing heavy helps, too – makes them think you’re on the brink of busting their face in.”

Jade blinked. “Uh… thanks?”

“No problem,” she said breathily. “Gotta gain your trust, somehow.”

“You’ll never gain my trust.” She leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth. “But you seemed to have gained Freddie’s. Welcome to the family.”

“Family?” Freddie asked. “Like a club or a clan or something? With poisoned Kool-Aid?”

Jade reached out with her other hand and caressed his chin. “You make everything so romantic.”

“You’re holding my frenemy by her hair and threatening her to be my slave,” Freddie pointed out – quite unnecessarily.

Her eyeliner made her owlish blinks much more innocent than intended. “Hell of a one-month anniversary gift, if you ask me.”

Sam, still disoriented by Jade’s kiss, let loose a chuckle – and realized immediately what she did. “Shit. I really think something’s wrong with me.”

“Take it from someone who hates having feelings,” Jade murmured, slowly untangling her fingers from the girl’s blond tresses. “I hate you, I love him, you hate that you love him. And some part of me likes that. We’re all fucked up, and that’s okay.”

“Finally!” Freddie yells out. “Somebody gets my point!”

Jade eyed him curiously. “Would you have it any other way?”

“Well?” Sam questioned, un-eased by the silence.

Freddie smirked. “You didn’t correct what she said earlier.”

Sam blinked. “What’s the point? I’m your slave, apparently.”

“I never asked for a slave, I wanted a friend.” Freddie slowly reached up to cup her chin. “And I’ll leave Carly alone, whatever you choose.”

Jade wisely kept silent, while Sam considered her options.

With tentative hands, she reached up and held Freddie’s wrist. “Remember when you made that offer to me, for me to break your arm whenever I wanted?”

Freddie only nodded stoically while his girlfriend tensed beside him.

“That’s the terms. I want to say no, I don’t – ” she stuttered with her words. “Just… please don’t hurt me. Again.”

“You know, what I really liked about you was your rebellious streak. You’re a good person, Sam, when you’re not overly aggressive. I expect from you to speak your mind when you’re uncomfortable with or around me.” The brunet frowned. “I don’t mind you being a… a – ”

“A _bitch_ , Freddie,” Jade helped, and Sam flinched.

Freddie rolled his eyes. “I don’t mind you being _yourself_ , Sam. Just don’t be a bitch.”

The young blonde scoffed. “You say that like there’s a difference.”

“I say that like I know you,” he corrected her, and rubbed his thumb gently over her bottom lip. “And I can call you a lot of things, but I also know what you _can_ be.”

“Just kiss already,” Jade murmured, crossing her arms and looking to the side.

Freddie reached out with his other hand and by instinct, she took it. “Jealous?”

“Of course I am!” she raged, but the smile ruined it. “How come I don’t have a ‘Be nicer to me, or I’ll have sex with you’ speech? I was first, Freddie!”

Her best friend chuckled. “Yeah, well, I suppose you should have tried to kill me.”

“Sorry,” Sam whispered, and for once, she actually was.

Fred’s eyes twinkled. “You’ll make it up to me.”

Sam shivered in excitement involuntarily, and she knew she had fallen off the deep end. Without preamble, she easily pulled down his arm, and leaned forward into his chest.

And for the third time today, she willingly kissed him, and she felt those same flutters she had felt from the very first time earlier that week.

Hating herself was out of the question. Even hating Freddie was out. Before she had even left Freddie’s apartment, she knew that she might come back. Eventually.

But feeling that again – that sensation of comfort, that loss of control, that _freeing_ feeling – called to her sooner than necessary.

She slowly broke apart from Freddie, and looked over to Jade, who stared at her imperiously.

“Now how do you say ‘thank you’?” She asked, her lips pursed together.

Sam wasn’t sure what kind of answer she was expecting, but leaning in and kissing her probably wasn’t what she had in mind.

Still, she was quick with the follow-up as she reached behind the blonde’s head, as she had done before, only much gentler, as the two girls locked lips. Her hand slowly slid across her neck and made her shiver in mid-breath, before taking both hands and pressing her fingers against her cheeks.

Sam tried to probe deeper with her tongue, sliding it along the pale girl’s lips before Jade backed away from her probing. “You’re welcome,” she breathed, “I was more expecting a literal thanks, though.”

The blue-eyed blonde blushed, her nerves burning and her chest pounding. “T-thanks.”

“That’s okay,” Jade grinned. “You’ll make it up to us.”

Sam had no doubt that she would be. And maybe, for the first time, she accepted to herself that she was looking forward to it.

Freddie kissed the back of her neck. “You sure you’re ready to go through with this? Jade and I… we’ve already done this.”

She leaned back into his chest, once again. “I’ve got nothing else to do tonight.”

“Good,” Jade whispered, pecking her on the lips, “because we’ve got nothing else to do all weekend.”

Sam gulped. She was starting to have no idea what she just got herself into.

It was when her shirt was removed – Correction: it was when she finally noticed that her shirt was removed – that she had a general idea of what was about to happen. Her tank top was the only thing separating her breasts from the eyes of her attackers, and it was translucent enough that it wasn’t a real obstruction. She shivered when Jade blew through to the shirt to her nipple, and her hot breath when she chuckled as she watched it grow before her eyes.

Her skin was clammy when Freddie’s fingers wandered over her sides and tickled her ribs. Her mind was blanking, and she let herself go with a moan, that was quickly covered up by the pale girl’s lips.

Freddie didn’t mind foreplay, and he showed it as he slowly moved his hands under her undershirt, letting his fingers wander for a moment before grazing the undersides of her smallish breasts, and she moaned into his girlfriend’s mouth.

Jade however, felt that a new dynamic needed to be added to the situation. She quickly unbuttoned the fair-skinned Seattleite’s jeans and, without preamble, slid her fingers down into the moist heat below.

Her hands tightened around Jade’s waist as she crushed the girl to her, spreading her legs in favor of her fingers sliding into her slick core. She backed her head away to moan loudly as her slim index forced her way into her tight cunt.

“Oh, she’s tight,” Jade whispered. “Don’t have much to compare it to, but I hope Cat’s this tight as I think she is.”

“This explains why you know what scissoring is,” Freddie chuckled, pinching his slave’s nipple. She squeaked and writhed in his grasp. “Any chance you want to share her with me?”

Jade hummed. “That depends on how good you are with what we have now.” Her finger wriggled inside of the young blonde and she cried out. “Don’t make her pick favorites, Freddie.”

He sucked on her neck, and her mouth made the most girly sound she ever thought she could make. He rested his chin on her shoulder to look down at Jade’s disappearing hand. “Did I win?”

Sam nodded frantically, biting her bottom lip, while Jade frowned. “She’s a squirter.”

The brunet flicked at her sensitive nubbins. “That didn’t happen last time.”

Sam squirmed in their hands. “I think this counts as hurting me!”

Jade wriggled her finger a little more. “Hush, you. Mind your masters.” She reached up with her other hand and lifted her shirt the rest of the way off and, with Freddie’s help, divested her of her shirt. “Wow. I can see why Freddie couldn’t help himself. Those look _succulent_.”

She could feel the heat on her cheeks. “I don’t remember if that was before or after he started spanking me.”

Jade looked seriously at Freddie. “Oh, we’ve got a _lot_ to do this weekend.”

Freddie raised and eyebrow, cupping and massaging his newest girlfriend’s chest. “Oh? You’re into that?”

Her soft lips latched onto a pinkish nipple, winking at her lover as she did so.

Freddie, a smirk on his lips, released her breasts in favor of pushing her jeans down.

The fair-skinned girl jerked at Jade’s insistently wiggling finger, her own hands roaming her clothed midriff. As tempted as she was to rip the clothes off of her seemingly frail form, she suspected that it wouldn’t be a good start to this new relationship.

Freddie kissed her neck again, resting his hands on her bare shoulders, while Jade squeezed closer into her naked form. His hands slid down while her hands slid out of her moist passage and upwards. And they were switching places; Freddie had his hands on her bare hip while Jade was on her bare breasts.

Jade felt the blonde’s tits up with a no small sense of wonder. Considering her age, they were well-grown – small oranges to her small apples – and as she discovered this new faucet of her sexuality, she discovered that she didn’t mind this new side of her preference at all.

Fingering Sam had been an eye-opener, for sure, in terms exploration; but by touch, she appeared to be built the same as her, and she even had smooth skin all-around leading into her slick girlhood. But actually touching breasts that weren’t hers, breasts that weren’t similar to hers in the slightest, really brought it home for the unsure lesbian.

The combination of her gasps, and her soft hands sneaking under her shirt and caressing her skin for the first time, made her melt into the girl, and it was then that she realized that she might be non-discriminating when it came to genders.

Her flannel shirt was being loosened, and she looked down to see Freddie’s hands, gently pulling apart the snaps. She quickly looked up to see the look on his face when he realized that her shirt was all she wore on her visit to see him.

Just looking at his awed face reminded her that Freddie was the one exception to the rule, as she had discovered many times in life. She opened her shirt partially and hugged Sam to her, leaning over her shoulder to deliver a kiss to her best friend.

Freddie hungrily kissed her, removing his own shirt and letting it fall down his arms. His hand sneaked around Sam’s waist and his fingers grazed the skin of her bald pubis.

Sam closed her eyes and leaned her head to the side as she was assaulted with pleasure on both ends, her body mashed by two half-naked lovers, her inflamed lips being rubbed – _teased_ – by Freddie’s skillful hands and his girlfriend – her girlfriend too, she would be so bold to add – pressing her pale brown nipples against her own and swiping pleasantly against her, while taking a firm grab of her bubble butt.

Freddie had distinctly expressed that her ass was his favorite feature, and Jade seemed to agree, squeezing and pinching it in her delicate hands, molding it like she thought it wasn’t going to reform the next time she squeezed.

Sam’s hands tightened, before she went for Jade’s zipper, which was hard to do when pressed against her own pubis, pressed against Freddie’s sinfully good fingers, but she pressed on, and before long, her black jeans were no longer an immediate hindrance.

They were a simple pair of gray underwear, and the dark spot of wetness tantalized her, but she was yet again wondering if she could get away with ripping them off, even with the pants still mostly on. She refrained, marveling on how much she had changed over the week (mostly sarcastically), and slid her fingers under the elastic. Her fingers knocked against Freddie’s as the index slipped into his girlfriend’s tight pussy up to the second knuckle.

Jade broke the kiss to groan, and leaned back to thrust her hips forward into the blonde, who quickly swooped down to tongue her pale chest.

That left Freddie in a very uncomfortably comfortable situation.

Throughout the evening, and it was obvious that Jade was aware of it, his erection had been plain and prevalent, but only by touch. His jeans had hidden it well, and as good as that was for the entire conversation they had earlier, It was throbbing painfully in the denim and cotton confines.

And now, Sam’s supple, curved backside was unintentionally grinding directly against it, all while his fingers were still pumping into her slick cunt with ease, and he had no doubt that she was ready for him, as he slowly twisted in a third finger, something he hadn’t been able to do the last time.

Jade whipped her black tresses behind her, and looked blearily at Freddie. She blinked at the position he seemed to be stuck in, before smiling at him. Wordlessly, she reached underneath to run her middle finger over the small nubbin that her hand had briefly explored earlier.

Sam moaned sexily, and the vibrations from her teeth left wonderful stimulations, but she focused on target and wiggled her finger on the bundle of nerves.

Freddie blinked for a moment as his dick throbbed again, mashing against the hard denim. Eyeing his girlfriend preparing her ‘gift’ to him was likely to fuel a great many fantasies after this was over, even if he somehow messed this up. His hands lowered and unbuttoned his jeans. With a slow, purposeful grip, he pulled on the zipper and shoved his pants and briefs down in one go.

Jade never really had a mental ruler on how big or small Freddie was, but while he wasn’t hung like a horse in the literal sense, she doubted she wanted anything bigger in her for a long while yet. He was certainly blessed for his age, something she had started paying attention to many years back.

Freddie slowly removed his fingers from her sopping hole and stroked himself, her juices sliding against him making his stomach clench. He rubbed her juices gently across the mushroom tip, before leaning forward and swiping it against the opening of Samantha Puckett.

The blonde opened her eyes and stopped her fingers in mid thrust, jumping forward in surprise and almost bowling Jade over, had she not caught them both. “Freddie?”

“Point of no return,” he whispered, and held his hands on her hips, swiping the head of his dick up and down against her slick lips. “Your choice, Sam.”

No one could directly see her face, her hair matted to her forehead and her body bent over. Sam used that to her advantage to consider what was about to happen next.

She was his.

It wasn’t a question of whether or not there was going to be a repeat performance of last time, it was _when_ it was going to happen. ‘Taking advantage of each other,’ he had said. And the excitement she had then _couldn’t even compare_ to what was about to happen.

She was ready to give herself to him – to give herself to the both of them.

With minutely trembling hands, she reached under herself to pull her lips apart, and with her other hand, braced herself against Jade, who held her with a comfort she wasn’t aware she could possess.

With a deep breath, she nodded. “Give it, Sir. Take me.”

Just those words alone could have set Freddie off, had he not done this before. Still, it was an internal struggle, staring at the wonderful pink of her precious girlhood, exposed to him for the first time, glistening in the light. His eyes traced her beautiful naked form again, taking in what he didn’t get to see before. Her beautiful, flawless legs spread as much as her pants would allow at her ankles, and her pinkened, swollen vulva winked at him as Sam readjusted her fingers, waiting patiently for him to make her a woman.

His dick rubbed directly against the inside of her core a few times, and she moaned wantonly at the unbelievably arousing sensation, before he slowly began to push his dick inside of the quivering blonde.

For a moment, Jade felt the unsurprising feeling of jealousy in the pit of her stomach. It was when Sam moaned a guttural groan against her chest that she realized that she was jealous of Freddie, getting her to moan like that. _She_ wanted to make her moan like that.

Quickly making a decision, she lowered herself to her knees, and looked at her boyfriend slowly penetrating their newest lover.

It was really fascinating to watch, watching his member plug itself into that small, elastic-mimicking vice that was their slave’s snug snatch.

That would make for an interesting tattoo idea. But for now, she was enjoying seeing the flawless fair-skinned beauty, a nice contrast to her own pale skin, get shafted by Freddie’s similar skin-toned cock. He was halfway in before Sam squirmed in discomfort and Freddie began to slowly stroke himself in and out, trying to ease more in.

Her tongue peeked out and swiped against the nub that she was so focused on earlier, and Sam seemed to get a kick out of.

The shock of the slimy texture against her clit had Sam bucking, almost thumping Jade in the chin with her knee, but she stopped herself. Her pussy filled for the first time in her life, and the hot gothic girl underneath her sucking and licking at her nether regions, made her realize that she would do _anything_ to make sure this never ended.

Slowly kicking off her pants and shoes, Jade turned around to face up into the joined organs, and reached up to caress his twitching sac, feeling the bald skin contract under her touch. Freddie groaned out loud, and pumped faster, and Sam moaned loudly, bending forward until her hands rested against Jade’s bared thighs.

Slowly massaging the back of Sam’s well-sculpted calves, and wondering how such silky smooth skin could be so dangerous if abused, she tapped on the back of her knees until the towering girl got the message and began to kneel, Freddie following for the sake of never leaving the velvet vice again.

Soon, all three were on the floor, Jade laying on her back in her opened shirt as Sam leaned over her, taking it doggy-style from her boyfriend. She leaned up and began licking the girl’s clit again, and both Freddie and Sam moaned their approval from the contractions that followed.

With a small, final push down on Sam’s spread thighs, their pubic bones mashed together, and Freddie was fully inside of the shuddering teen.

Sam felt so full, having Freddie’s cock spear into her – a tool that she hadn’t even seen yet, only a part when she looked between her own legs for her deflowering. She gasped for air, panting as he steadily pumped into her. She knew that she wasn’t hurting because she was so wet, hearing the familiar squelches as he easily slid in and out of her tight vice. She stared blankly at Jade’s pale, pristine slit, devoid of hair and any imperfections, and saw a drop of her drool slowly fall onto her lily-white pubis.

Jade jumped, but didn’t do anything else, still licking at the blonde’s and brunet’s union, but raised her hips in encouragement.

She slowly lowered her head over the curious new object of her desire, and gave a small, tentative lick down the slit.

Jade’s bare feet squeezed the carpet, her toes flexing as she spasmed. She began to swivel her hips into Sam’s face, trying to stop herself from bucking sporadically. She raised her hand and put her hands on Freddie’s own, and squeezed.

He could take a guess as to what was happening, and, not for the first time, wished he had a camera. Unfortunately, he didn’t have the best angle to see the two sharing each other, being balls-deep inside of Sam Puckett and all.

Maybe not so unfortunate.

Being on his knees limited his movement, but he pounded away at the blonde, shuddering every so often as his girlfriend licked the part of the shaft that was out of Sam’s sticky cunt, letting her tongue run along the underside as it ‘squicked’ back into her velvety hole.

Wiping the sweat from his fringe, he placed his hands back on her ass and curiously spied the crinkled pink hole winking at him as he gripped her ass tightly.

Freddie allowed himself a moment to consider whether or not to remedy his curiosities, before running his finger lightly over her puckered sphincter.

There was a noticeable twitch, massaging his dick with her spasms, and Jade even moaned as she had apparently done something with her mouth as well.

A thought for another time, maybe.

Without warning, Freddie pulled out of Sam, and leaned back on his haunches. On shaky legs, he stood on his feet and gently lifted Sam out of Jade’s reach to pull her against his chest.

“How is it so far?” Freddie breathed, and Sam was lucky that she was already blushing.

“Better than last time,” she admitted with a weak grin, still feeling his hard cock grinding between her cheeks. Her hand sneaked behind her and she finally felt what was inside her.

On second thought, maybe it was better that she didn’t see it before she was already guaranteed that it would fit.

Jade stretched a little before she sat up and frowned at the two. “I don’t know how we got from sampling the merchandise to a full-on test run, but let’s not try that on the floor again.”

Freddie agreed, but presented a problem. “My mom will notice the smell next time she washes the sheets.”

Jade seemed to take that into consideration while the couple just looked content to stare at her heaving breasts. “We’ll wash them. We have a slave, after all.”

Sam didn’t have a problem with that. She did the laundry at home, anyway.

It was the ‘working’ part of this relationship that she was going to have to get used to.

“I suppose this isn’t a purely physical thing?” she wondered hopefully, and squeaked when Freddie pinched her butt.

“Sorry,” Freddie murmured unapologetically. “You signed up for this. You can say no, anytime.”

A disapproving look from Jade was all it took to cement her decision. It reminded her so much of how Freddie looked at her, it was painful, and she didn’t want to see that look again. “Yes, sir.”

Freddie clicked his tongue. “My name’s Freddie. ‘Sir’ is my father.”

Jade rolled her eyes as she stood up. “You goof.”

“You love this goof,” Freddie teased, reached around Sam to clasp Jade’s hand, and she shyly got pulled along to hug against Sam, pecking her boyfriend on the lips.

“Déjà vu,” Sam warned, and the two reluctantly parted.

“My turn,” Jade whispered, her blue-green eyes shining up at his cinnamon browns. “I think I’ve earned it.”

Freddie smiled. “You are just too awesome.”

“I know I am.” She kissed him again, Sam now off to the side and sitting on the bed. “You know I’m gonna have, like, a harem of dudes when I get back to LA, right?”

Freddie’s hands wandered her naked form. “You still have to share.”

She stuttered, not expecting that reaction, and Freddie smiled devilishly. “Gotcha.”

She let out a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God! How embarrassing would it be if I had to tell people my boyfriend is gay?”

Freddie let out a mock groan. “You’re lucky you don’t have to bear my burden.”

She only smirked in response.

Sam smiled at the easy interaction between the couple. It kinda reminded her of Carly and her.

Carly. Just the thought of her reaction to her being in this room, with these two, after what she had just done. The poor girl’s head would explode.

She closed her eyes as her breath calmed. She didn’t feel _guilt_ , per se, for what she just did.

She knew the whole rigmarole. This was usually around the time she called herself crazy for enjoying what happened. And were it not for the fact that she was consensual in all of this, she would have been hating herself.

She couldn’t deny what they said. Carly was her world. She was the only one that accepted her, and the only one willing to put up with her faults.

And somewhere along the line, around the time that Freddie figured it out, she realized that she needed more.

She didn’t need someone who could contain her. She needed someone who could _control_ her.

She eyed the couple laughing companionably, no awkwardness in their movements even as their hands wandered their bare bodies.

She loved Carly dearly – sometimes, maybe even more than a sister – but she silently made a promise to herself that she would _never_ let Freddie date her. For her own sake.

She subconsciously licked her lips, and she blushed at the taste. More sweet than tangy.

Yes, it would be best if Carly never even knew who Jade was.

She was speeding down a tricky slope, and she knew it. All she had was Freddie’s word that he would no longer pursue her best friend, and that was the best thing she had; even she had to admit that he had kept his word on everything so far.

But she had to stop Carly from trying to pursue Freddie. She just didn’t know how to go about doing that without admitting a few secrets that she would rather not reveal.

She let out a frustrated sigh, unintentionally focusing attention on her.

“What?” Jade wondered. “I know you can’t be ready to go again!”

Sam instinctively crossed her legs. Jade’s fingers had been there every time she clenched in orgasm. She had enough for one day. “Uh,” she looked unsure, finding the right words to say. “What we talked about earlier. Are you leaving Carly alone?”

Freddie raised an eyebrow. “I said I would.”

“I know you did,” she said quickly, “but you didn’t tell me you would stay away even if _she_ asked _you_ out.”

Freddie’s eyes wandered to his desk next to the bed, and the half-finished, completely liquid jumbo smoothie that sat atop it that was once a Blueberry Banana Blitz. “I guess I’ll figure something out. But I could always introduce her to Jade – ”

“NO!”

The ebony-haired Californian raised an eyebrow. “I’m not that terrible a person.”

“No,” Sam repeated, albeit much softer. “Carly can _never_ meet her.”

She clicked her tongue. “That’s going to be difficult.”

Sam felt like one of those moments where her best friend was behind her the whole time, but considering everyone in the room was nude, she felt that there would be a lot more problems than troubled introductions. “Why?”

“Because for the next four days, I’ll be living here,” she told her seriously, “and I’m going to have to leave before Mama Benson gets back.” She eyed the lock on the door. “That lock still work?”

The brunet wrapped his arms around her torso and looked over her shoulder. “It came with the apartment. She wants to replace it, but I’ve talked her down so far.”

She tilted her head. “I suppose _actually_ living in here isn’t too far outside the realm.”

Sam felt uneased. She could see a lot of things going wrong this weekend, and she wasn’t so sure she was the best person for damage control. “Any chance I could dissuade you from leaving this apartment?”

Her teal eyes shined. “We’ll work something out, but it’s not about you right now.” She pulled her lover’s hands apart and took brought them up to her chest. “I don’t think Freddie finished. Mind helping me out?”

Sam was only too happy to help.

* * *

***The Next Morning***

Jade let loose a chuckle, shivering in Freddie’s warm embrace. “She snuck out.”

Her boyfriend yawned. “I don’t blame her. We practically have her barricaded in here.”

“No,” she gently corrected him. “We kept Mama Benson barricaded _out_. Sam could’ve stayed as long as she liked to.”

“I was wondering how long it was going to take for you to get her name right.”

She shrugged, digging deeper into his arms. “Apples and Oranges,” she muttered. She sighed. “Think she’s gonna come back? Or is she regretting it all?”

“I think part of her regrets it,” Freddie slowly admitted. “Maybe the part of her that thinks she betrayed Carly. I seem to be a popular guy, here. But I don’t seem to remember you inviting her to our weekend together.”

“It was implied,” she whined, and she shivered again as a deep rumble purred into his back from his chuckle.

“Seems like you want to explore her more than me.”

“I’ve had a full two nights with you,” she complained, her voice light. “I had three hours with her at the most before she passed out. She seemed just as interested to explore me. It seems just like how I saw it. She didn’t even know how she felt for Carly, and what Carly did for her.”

Freddie sniffed. “Makes you think.”

She blew a green strand away from her face. “About us?”

He pressed his nose against the back of her neck. “About what I would do to protect you. From a monster.”

Jade sighed exasperatedly. “That only works if you were the monster to begin with. And you have to piss off someone who would’ve left you alone otherwise. I don’t think she would tell you that you were a monster a week ago. You are what she made you, Freddie.”

He smiled against her neck. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” She looked at the lone delicacy on the open windowsill. “How did she get to the fatcakes if the door is barricaded?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jade doesn't have a pearphone yet. I know. But just let me have this.
> 
> Going to just put this out there – I could have probably gotten away with putting in ages, but I don’t want to scare more away. So I edited ages out of the first chapter. Everything else is untouched – picture whatever age makes you comfortable, I’m just telling a story. I don’t mean to make anyone uncomfortable. Note the pic of Jade I put on the picture of The Slap update. Picture whatever age that is.
> 
> Please review, and I really hope to see you soon. Thanks for your patience, and I really hope it was worth the wait.
> 
> Also, I have a weakness for screenshots. You should check out the screenshot from the last chapter, I doubled their text conversation length.


	5. Appreciation

_Special Dedications to Matthew Morrison, Alexander S., C. Cheung, Atomic Stryker, and Sisyphus. Thank you so very much for your Patronage._

* * *

“Is that _really_ the best picture you have of us?”

Freddie grimaced at the cringe-worthy photo, hidden facedown on the nightstand until it caught his lover’s eye. “I think it’s one of the _only_ pictures I have of us.”

Jade looked at the nightstand, then back to her boyfriend. She gave him one of those smirks. “Get your phone.”

Freddie blinked. “Really? Right Now?”

“Right now. Crop it if you need to. We’ll keep the original. But we’re burning this shitty photo. You need to invest in a tripod.”

“I hear they have sticks that help you take pictures from farther away with your phone.”

“I love you, Freddie, but I might have to kill you if I ever see you with one of those abominations against society.”

“What? You’d think I’d use it irresponsibly?”

“Using it at all is a scourge on all that is right.”

“You realize that in your Hollywood world, you may need to take a lot of selfies for social media.”

“One: you’d be my photographer. Two: I have _arms_. When I lose those, I’ll think about it. Three: If they really want to see me, I’d probably have movies they could see me in. Just a suggestion.”

“Oh, they’re just going to love that personality of yours.”

“I know they will.”

He chuckled. “I know I do, but benefits come with the personality.”

She scoffed. “Sure. Just know that I’m a lot harsher on everyone else. I’ll work on it. But like I said before; you get the full Jade experience this weekend.” She abandoned the cover in favor of rolling onto her best friend. “Even I don’t know what that is. Be honored.”

His eyes took on a certain gleam, that reminded her, if she needed it, why she tried so hard for him. “Never change.”

“You say that until I skip my morning coffee.”

“You haven’t had your morning coffee.”

“It’s been a different kind of night,” she muttered with a slight rasp, her eyelashes fluttering.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “Did I have something to do with that?”

She pushed him, letting her fingertips linger against his naked skin. “Don’t get cocky.”

He peeked down. “‘Cocky’ isn’t a good word I’d use right now.”

“Just get the damn camera.” She was never truly annoyed with Freddie – she had a low tolerance for everyone else that, as she had told him previously, she was working on – but the boy knew how to push her buttons in more ways than one.

Goddammit, she loved it. It reminded her that she was human. Sometimes, she needed that reminder.

He reached into his nightstand drawer, and pulled an old analog camera. “I found this thing while I was searching the house. Someone just left it here.”

“Their loss, your gain.”

“I guess so. Not much I can do with it, though. Nothing and no one… to…”

Jade instinctively covered herself up as Freddie’s eyes hovered over her. “Freddie… no.”

He shrugged helplessly. “It was a nice thought. But can I ask for some tasteful shots?”

“Tasteful as in ‘covered’?” She furrowed her brows. “Let me have my coffee first. Then I can think about it a little bit more.”

Freddie nodded. “Of course. You can even think about it wearing clothes.”

She tilted her head back and forth. “After what we did last night, wearing clothes in front of you just doesn’t feel right.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Is this what the new Jade is like? I mean, I told you not to change, but… I have no complaints. I like it.”

“You should. This is one weekend only. And maybe I’m hamming it up for you, but when I go back to the City of Angels, you’re not getting a progress report out of me.” She let the sheet fall from her grip as she sat up on the bed and threw her legs over the edge. “I won’t be an ice bitch, but no one’s giving me a spanking if I don’t play nice with others.”

Freddie admired her pale, flawless back on display for a few seconds, before responding. “I’d hope not. As stated before, I don’t like sharing.”

“Am I on the assumption that slaves don’t count? Because we did a _lot_ of sharing last night.”

He looked ponderous, choosing his next words carefully. “I think Sam counts. You’re right, it was mutual, for the most part. But… were you serious about your friends? Catherine and Dana?”

After more than a few seconds of staring ahead, she looked up into her boyfriend’s eyes and, eventually, nodded. “The last month without you was a hell I’ve never felt before. We’re just so… tuned… to each other, that it’s just a reaction. Wake up, shower, clothes, breakfast, see what Freddie’s up to. It’s not even labeled as ‘go to school.’ I go to school because I know that’s where you’re headed, it’s not like my own mother is taking me there, or giving me pep talks on why I _should_ go. If you hadn’t left, and kept walking with me to school, I’d still have a perfect attendance record.” She looked troubled admitting all of this, and Freddie moved to her side to hug her to himself. He wasn’t sure if that was the right move, considering their state of undress, but she needed comforting, and he couldn’t help but slip into old habits. Very reminiscent of what she was talking about.

“So I’m gonna miss you when I go back,” she admitted, shivering under his hooked arm. “I guess that’s what I’m getting at. So while you’re busy fucking the backbone out of the blonde, I’ll need a special friend, too.”

Freddie rolled his eyes. Just when he was beginning to make some headway… “Just because you gave me permission, doesn’t mean I’ll be having sex with her while you’re gone. I’m not moving on or anything.”

She leaned into his embrace. “That’s why I’m telling you. Look, going on and on about her aside – you know, calling her a bitch and all – spending a few hours with someone, intimately, changes your perspective; you know? That chick’s in love with you. We didn’t even have to lock her in here and go for a whole ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ thing.”

“I was more going for a Pavlov effect. In a sense, it backfired. Didn’t expect her to fall for me. I was trying to activate a trigger.”

“A trigger? Like every time she’s about to attack you, you snap your fingers and she drops everything and gets on all fours?”

“Um… _no._ More like every time she _thinks_ about attacking me, she _doesn’t_.”

She chuckled dryly. “Backfire, indeed. Now when she thinks about attacking you, she’s hoping it’s on a safe day.”

He snorted. She smiled to herself. “She likes you. You like her.”

That idea sobered him. “I never said that,” he said quickly.

Maybe too quickly, in her opinion. “You’re not a slut. You’re not fucking anyone you have no attachment to. TLet me say it again; she’s in love with your goofy ass. Don’t let her down. I made a friend yesterday, and it’s safe to say she made two friends. She got into the role really fast, and it was the most fun I’ve ever had. I’ll definitely be bonding with her again, whether you’re here or not. If you want to join in on the fun, that’s your choice. Just keep in mind, I will never let you live it down if you pass her up.” She sniffed. “I’ve never told anyone I’m gay. Not even myself, for a while. I figured it out after you left. Without a dude to sit on every day, my eyes wander. And, making a safe bet, no other dudes hold a candle. But companionship really makes you think about things. And now that you know, and now that I’ve said it out loud, do you really think I can be stopped to see where the curiosity takes me?”

Freddie fell back into the bed and sighed. “Is this my new life, now? My girlfriend, either pimping me out or cuckolding me?”

“One, don’t sully the fact that you just called me your girlfriend for the first time. Secondly, yes. Be thankful. Monogamy is overrated.”

He leaned over and gazed at her with friendly, brown eyes. She had a way with her words that always made him, at the very least, play along. “You realize the many complications that can come with this game you’re playing.” It wasn’t a question. Of course she knew. “And what about condoms?”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Mama Benson was sneaking some kind of experimental Columbian shit in your meals to prevent you from producing little Fredwards.”

He let out a chuckle. “Venezuelan,” he automatically corrected. It was where the chip in the back of his neck came from, anyway. “If there was ever a time for her to make up what she did to me, now would be it.”

“If there was ever a time,” Jade volunteered, “it should be if we get caught. That’s what she did, it’s only fair that we return the favor.”

It was almost a literal ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card, his mother had given him. She could have very easily been arrested for microchipping her son as a baby via the shadiest doctor she could find. It was why he could eat regular, fully cooked and non-powdered meals and not be ostracized – and probably why she hadn’t barged in after seeing the fat cakes left out.

“So, what’s the list of hotties you want to take care of while I’m here?”

“A list? There’s a list now?”

The teal-eyed girl rolled said teal eyes. “There’s always a list, babe.” She laid down on her boyfriend’s chest. “I don’t think Dana would say ‘no’ to a proposition.”

“I’m not sure you know how ‘self-control’ and ‘tact’ works.”

“I’ll be straight with you; I don’t think she does, either.” She blinked at her own words. “Well, _she’ll_ be straight with you. Don’t know what she thinks about me.”

“I’ve created a monster.”

“No, I’ve always been a monster. But now I’m less ‘Kreuger’ and more ‘Cookie’.”

“Pun intended?”

“That’s the joke, Freddie. Keep up.” She kissed his bare chest to take the sting out of her words. She hoped for a ton of more chances to do that. “We’ve got some work to do, and very little time to do it. I mean, we _could_ spend the rest of the long weekend in here, making sure we can never walk again, and me getting more pale than I already am, but I think our time could be better used in a long term investment.”

“Like Sam?”

“Yeah. Like Sam. Or… someone else you had in mind?”

“I’ve only been here a month. I don’t have many friends here yet.”

“Oh.” She spun lazy circles around his nipple, deep in thought, absently loving the way his body rumbled under her head. “I mean, there’s the Carly girl that was brought up all night. And conveniently, she’s right across the hall. The hype is very real, and I desperately need to see what she looks like. But a promise is a promise, I guess, until we decide to break it.” With her other hand, she picked up the forgotten camera lying between them. “Then how about we at least make you some friends? You managed to seduce Sam on your own, but I think I can help with the intro.”

Freddie thought about it, Or, at least as much as he could, seeing as he was ticklish, and Jade distracting him wasn’t helping. “I’m still not sure about multiple girlfriends – you and Sam are a handful as it is – but I could always use more friends.” Through a veil of black hair, he could see her smirk. “Don’t get cocky.”

“You called Sam your girlfriend.”

He blinked. “Oh. Slip of tongue.”

“Trust me, that tongue always knows what it’s doing.”

“You’ve got a book of those, don’t you?”

Her eyes closed for a moment. “When you’ve lived your entire life to a schedule, and then suddenly it’s gone, your reality tends to mold into your dreams. And then your dreams get out of hand. Consider what we are, right now, a fantasy come to life.”

The brunet inspected her closely, in a light he’d never seen her in before. He’d known her for almost a decade, seen her on a literally daily basis, and he’d never seen her so vulnerable, so innocent, so…

So, truly Jade? He knew she had always had the potential to be someone who could truly open up to him. She always had an air about her that kept him back, never letting him truly embrace her.

And for one weekend, and possibly more, she would let him in more than _anyone_ , not even her mom, could ever see.

And he loved her for that; he really and honestly did.

But why? Why the vulnerability _now_?

“I don’t get this.” He brushed the hairs away from her eyes for an uninterrupted gaze. “Why don’t you want to keep me all to yourself? I mean, we might enjoy this for a while, but don’t you think you’re just asking for a fight if you continue with this? Don’t you think all of this could lead to jealousy? We said this already – we _don’t like sharing_. And that is _exactly_ what you’re offering. So… _why_?”

She said nothing for a moment. A very long moment. She just stared, searching for something that he couldn’t fathom. Her finger stopped roaming his chest in favor of resting on his shoulder, and she wordlessly leaned over to straddle him, their bare forms pressing against each other, but she never lost eye contact, even as his significantly weakened body reacted to her lithe form, his flesh willing to go another round.

But she did manage to lose concentration. “I…” she started, before she cleared her throat. “You know what I don’t get? Why you just can’t enjoy this. I’m offering you something not a lot of girls get to offer, and you just toss it to the side because of some morality complex. I mean, you really looked like you were enjoying last night, and I think at this point, even _she’s_ expecting an encore.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.” He wrapped both arms around her waist. “Maybe I’m not against any of this. Maybe I do appreciate what you’re doing for me. Maybe I do actually _like_ Sam. And maybe you do like girls as much as I do. But why are you so desperate to try something like this? You’re going away after this weekend, and you’re okay with leaving me with Sam? _Why_?”

She let out a heavy groan, her head falling to just beneath his chin. “Because… because I never want you to be alone again, okay?” She sniffed. “I know how miserable I was before I left LA, and you told me how miserable you were. I don’t want that happening to you when I leave. What we did to Sam was not exactly the therapy I had planned, but at least she’s on your side now. Now, she won’t make your life hell. Now, you’ve got each other to turn to. I’m good with you _wanting_ me, but now, at least you don’t _need_ me. And I don’t want to need you like I did when you left. It fucking _hurt_. It physically hurt me, and I don’t want that pain. I love you, Freddie. But I need something to fill the void when I’m in LA. If Catherine made an offer, I would have jumped. I would have… I might have cheated on you. And I couldn’t have taken that back.”

“Jade… I cheated on _you_.” It wasn’t something he was proud of, but he felt she needed that reminder.

“It wasn’t the same. You were thinking about me when you did it, but you were angry. You _hated_ me. We weren’t together at the time, and you thought you weren’t going to see me again. But what about after? We are _teenagers_! Raging hormones and unresolved frustration! Sometimes I feel like I won’t help myself. You couldn’t! But the next time we might be able to see each other, probably won’t be for a while.”

Freddie had to admit that she had a point. He might have dreamed of surprising her of going to the elite school of Hollywood Arts the next year as a freshman, but he doubted that his mother would have been keen on moving back to the place that she just left. “At least we can keep in contact with each other this time.”

“It won’t be enough. It’s never enough. We’re both tired of being alone. I’ll always be your number one girl – I have enough faith in that. But we don’t have to suffer together. And I didn’t want things to be unresolved between you and Sam. She’s a load of fun. And me and Cat? Who knows, something might happen, and next time I come down, she might come with me and we’ll all have some fun together?”

He took a mental step back and examined her flawed logic, before he sighed. “I guess.”

She wrinkled her nose. “How about a shower and some mouthwash before we continue this conversation?”

“Do we have to share _everything_ , now?”

She leaned down to give him a tender kiss. “Only when we’re naked.”

It was when she slowly rolled off of him when he realized that he never wanted to be without her warm embrace again. He didn’t have that choice come next week.

Unless Sam could sneak out at night. And he was fairly sure that she could.

And then he began to see her side of the flawed logic, and realize that it wasn’t so flawed.

He followed her nude backside, her pale and flawless form, and realized that nothing could ever replace that.

But Sam’s body was just as flawless, and tantalizing. He could get used to seeing that, too. But he could never get used to being alone again.

He was almost sure it wasn’t love, but it sure wasn’t hate, at this point. Jade was his best friend, and Sam was, at the very least, his friend. And if they both truly wanted this, and… if _he_ truly wanted this, then why was he fighting this so much?

When Sam came over tonight, they’d have a long time to talk about it.

In the meantime, Jade was getting the water ready, slipping on his non-slip sandals, winking as she did so.

He’d never gotten out of a shower dirtier then when he’d gotten in.

* * *

So, maybe there was a small part of her that was irrevocably in love with Carly. Big deal.

Of course she’d known; and maybe she’d always known. Actually acknowledging it out loud, well, that was a different thing, wasn’t it? She never fully did until Freddie put it into perspective, and Jade had just blurted it out.

It always came back to Freddie, didn’t it? Her knuckles still hurt from before, but not nearly as much as her most tender of areas, recently deflowered.

They had it right, though. Carly was her rock. Her guiding light. Whatever analogy you could use for someone as sickeningly sweet as Carly.

It shouldn’t have made sense on paper. Befriending her at all shouldn’t have made sense, in her mind, but Carly had that effect on people.

So what was her excuse for Freddie getting into her head and heart like he did?

For most of Sam’s life, she had tortured, harassed, bullied and, on occasion, maimed people. And she had done it all simply because she felt like it. She didn’t necessarily want to. She certainly didn’t need to. Most times, she wasn’t even curious. She was just bored, and felt like she could be doing more, and that was simply what she chose to do.

When Carly told her to stop doing something she shouldn’t, she did. Not because doing what she did made her feel bad, but because disobeying Carly felt bad, and she just couldn’t bring herself to say ‘no’.

Again, Carly had that effect on her. She had that effect on a lot of people, but especially her.

Maybe it was because Sam just lived to please Carly? She could believe that. Until recently, Sam didn’t believe she could ever fulfill a submissive role, but apparently that was what she’d been doing ever since she met the brunette.

But Carly wasn’t dominant. She had her moments, reigning in her best friend, but she didn’t know how to take _control_. Not like Freddie or Jade could.

Maybe it was appropriate that it always came back to Freddie? That was what happened the past two months of her life, anyway.

“Sam? You there?”

The blonde blinked, and found herself in the lunchroom. Leave it to him to distract her from her most favorite class in school. “Hm? What?”

She smiled softly, and even after everything she’d been through, she held her breath. “Can I get your apple?”

She picked up the fruit like it had personally offended her, like the apple was trying to enslave her too, and passed it over to her friend. “What was I gonna do with one of those, anyway? _Eat_ it?”

“That’s usually the idea,” Carly replied, and Sam made a face. “So, about this weekend – this hobo-poking free weekend – ”

“Well, then, what’s the point of it all?”

” – I was thinking that we invite mom along. You know how rarely I get to see her, and she’s probably gonna ask us to do something with her anyway, so why not invite her this time? That way, _we_ can plan the schedule, and dictate the place?”

The blonde considered it for a moment, mashing what passed as potatoes according to school regulations. If Maria Shay went along with them, that would mean a better chance at Carly going in before curfew. That would give her a better chance at starting off this new double life.

She didn’t mince words, even in her head. She saw the disappointment in her friend’s eyes earlier that morning, at the mention of her cancelled date. And she certainly didn’t help it when she tried pushing the two together earlier in the week.

Maybe so he could teach Carly some pointers? She didn’t know. They had connected that day in a very unconventional way, and she just wanted to return a favor for a favor. Maybe she had put his feelings before her own in that moment.

God, the idea of Carly and Freddie being her dominant lovers made the pain in her navel go away, and replace it with an uncomfortable squickiness that made her shift in her seat. A few days ago, she would have wished that Carly would have befriended Freddie to learn his secrets, and pushed him aside to let her and Sam live happily ever after.

A few days ago, she wouldn’t have even known that she wanted that, but now, she knew that would have been a perfect scenario. Until she ended up, according to a startling revelation last night, falling in love with the nerd.

Again, she never really knew what she wanted, but hindsight did.

But Jade threw a wrench into those plans. A big-ass, heavy-ass wrench. And from the very beginning, when Freddie first asked her about how to get Carly’s attention that day, it wasn’t about not giving Carly to Freddie. A part of her was now thinking that it wasn’t about that at all.

Sam was trying to keep Carly to herself, and didn’t really know why – until now.

She had fun with Freddie and Jade. She truly enjoyed what they did together the previous night.

But it – hopefully – would have nothing on what she wanted with Carly. She wanted the comradery that Freddie and Jade had. The comfortability.

The _love_.

“Alright,” she finally agreed. “But you gotta explain to her the rules. She can’t tell me when it’s time to leave the food court.”

“Done. Anything else?”

“Hmmm… nah. That’s about it.”

At any given moment, Freddie, Jade, or Carly would have the power to spoil her appetite. She vowed to fix that.

* * *

Hand-in-hand, Freddie and Jade walked out of the lobby into the sunlight, Jade holding a death grip onto her boyfriend. His hand had lost all feeling by the time they got to the elevator, but her other hand cutting off his circulation at his elbow was a constant reminder that she was out of her comfort zone. “Jade, you realize that you’ve been sitting on my lap for the past ten years.”

“That was different,” she replied quickly. “We were practically babies when that started. Everyone was used to it, and it was too regular to be embarrassing. Now… now, it’s a statement.”

The fact that she cared at all about outside opinions told him how drastically she was willing to change for him – how out of her element she was. “If I yelled at the top of my lungs that I’m in love with Jadelyn West, would that break the ice?”

She glared up at him. “You’ll find yourself with a punctured lung before you can get it out.”

Freddie grinned. At least her grip was loosened. “So, what do you wanna do here that we can’t do in LA?”

“Besides Sam? How about… the Needle? Or the Science Center?”

“Too young for both – I’ve tried.”

“Fucking…” she muttered under her breath. “What can a couple of kids do without those pesky parents on our backs? Is there a local pool around?”

“I’m… not sure…I’ve never looked.”

“Well, if you want to shop around for potential benefits, the pool is the best place.”

“On weekends.”

“Oh… shit.”

“We got ahead of ourselves. School’s in session now.”

The girl sighed and walked a little faster with her boyfriend, escaping the curious eyes that followed them that she just now noticed. “Looks like we can’t go anywhere without people asking why we aren’t at school.” Another frustrated sigh. “I was going to wait a little bit later, but I guess it can’t be avoided – let’s drop by at Dana’s.”

Freddie had almost suggested going back upstairs and seeing if Spencer was doing anything – he seemed to be a pretty cool guy, not willing to rat on him for skipping school for a day – but that would’ve opened a can of worms that he was not willing to deal with this weekend. “Dana’s it is. You know where she lives?”

“She typed it into my TekMate on the plane. It’s not very far from here. I’ve got to get Cat’s number from her, too. I have her skype, but since you don’t have internet…”

His eyes lingered on the joint across the street – the Groovy Smoothie. A part of him wanted to take Jade into the shop, but thought better of it. For one, Jade didn’t care much for smoothies, especially after she had freshly brewed coffee.

Two, and maybe he was being sentimental, but he felt that the establishment was sacred in a way – it was something he and Carly and Sam shared. Granted, he and Jade had shared _Sam_ the previous night, so he didn’t think the blonde would mind if he stepped into a smoothie store with her, but Carly…

It just felt _wrong_. He knew he would never sit with anyone else under _their tree_ across from the park back home.

It would be hilarious to Jade how he tried to keep some sense of honor, and the ‘sudden’ realization didn’t elude him.

“Hold on…” he stopped, pulling his sling pack around to his front with his free arm. Jade quickly released his dominant arm, and he smiled gratefully in response, before unzipping the bag.

Jade scoffed as he pulled out the old instant analog camera. “Do you even know how to use one of those?”

“I don’t even have the film,” he admitted. “But now, we look like a couple of tourists walking through Seattle. We could still stop by Dana’s.”

She weighed the options in her head. “I promised I’d tell her if there were any ‘developments’. She was really invested in our little reunion.” Jade felt no real need to remind her boyfriend that she didn’t send her little love song herself. “Let’s just pop by for a minute, since we _still_ don’t have anywhere to really go. I bet we’ll still need an ID to go to any mall on a weekday.”

He slipped the camera, equipped with strap, around his neck. “And how much do you plan on telling her?”

“As much as you want to tell her. And… as much as she wants to hear.”

* * *

Sam was new to all of the emotions that had come her way in the past week. That much was very clear to her, no matter how much she was in denial about the emotions themselves.

So when Carly stretched her arms high above her head, swiveling her long neck in preparation for the Algebra assignment in front of her, Sam’s brain misfired.

That had never happened before. Never was she so _transfixed_ at Carly. She could barely compare it to seeing a whole new person. It was the same old Carly.

And that was what she loved about it. Only now, could she actively appreciate it.

Of course, she had always loved her best friend, as more than a best friend. All those romantic things she had seen on TV, she had pictured Carly with her – holding hands, sharing smoothies, all that junk. She never really put a label on it. That’s just how it went. It never really got more complicated than that.

Okay, maybe a _tiny_ part of her, a part that she ignored, because she really didn’t want to put the ebony-haired girl in such a lewd mindset, because she didn’t _belong_ there… but a part of her had always known that she wanted to fuck Carly.

There was a purity about the girl that Sam could never aspire to, so she never tried. But when she thought about her best friend, it just seemed _wrong_.

Of course, the girl was sweet, and good, and everything Sam wasn’t. So, the only way that the two could be together, was for Sam to change. Not the other way around, despite her numerous attempts to get Carly to join the dark side.

In fact, Carly won that fight a little bit every day, when she got Sam to reign in her temper and violence. No, that wasn’t right. Carly didn’t help Sam reign it in, she simply did it herself. She reigned _Sam_ in. It was an odd master/slave relationship, and for the longest time, Neither even knew they had those assigned roles. Jade had merely pointed it out to Sam.

And then she set the example.

She didn’t do anything drastic. A few light swats on her butt, and a little bossing around, and aside from the part where she yanked her head back and speared her into a wall, she had gone easy on the blonde.

If there was absolutely any chance that Carly would want to hold Sam like Freddie and Jade did, and touch her in the ways that only those two could, then she would have considered a meet-up.

Even if that included sharing.

Things used to be simple. Not anymore.

Carly would never touch her – especially after what happened last night. But what’s done is done, and all she could do was enjoy her life, and be with the people that actually _wanted_ to be with her.

Because she did love them, and want them. Just not as much as she wanted Carly, but that was understandable. Either way, it was a forbidden, impossible, broken way of love.

Sam Puckett’s eyes shifted away from her refreshed partner, and for once, didn’t complain about the assignment. She needed a distraction.

* * *

Carly was worried for her friend.

She’d never really seen Sam in a ponytail before since she was younger. She’d seen Melanie in a ponytail, but she could see the differences, even physically. Even when she wasn’t smiling, the more joyous twin had dimples. Truthfully, she felt that Sam would look great with a ponytail, as she had told her on Monday. Maybe she heeded her advice for once?

New hairstyle, new shampoo… it was clear that Sam had a crush on someone. Or, she was excited about hanging out for the weekend with her and her mom. Maybe she felt that she needed to remind her mother why she originally gave her daughter permission to be friends with such a rebel.

She could see that Sam was making an honest and true effort to be a nicer person. Well, at least, she hadn’t broken anyone’s thumbs lately.

Carly still couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or a terrible thing. Sam could be trying to change, sure, but she could also be pacing herself for something special.

She almost hoped it was the latter. This new Sam was worrying her, simply because she wasn’t being herself. She’d be okay with it if she told her why, but… nothing.

Carly was known to be quite the impatient girl. If something was bothering her best friend in the world, then it was up to Carly to figure it out.

It was that simple.

* * *

“Jesus, you’re cute.”

Jade snorted, while Freddie blinked rapidly at the Hispanic girl’s forwardness. “Um, thanks. You too?”

Quickly looking back, Dana slipped over the threshold of the door and closed it behind her. “Sorry – no boys allowed in the house. I guess you didn’t have that kind of problem last night?”

“Mama Benson wasn’t home last night,” Jade curtly informed her. “And she wasn’t there this morning. She left a note and breakfast.” That was the advantage of having a nurse as an only parent – always a busy schedule. “She should be back later today, and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

While Jade was explaining the absence of his mother, Freddie found himself looking at the house they were in front of. The two-story house was modest-looking at first sight, though it extended to the back far more than it was wide.

That was the sort of house that Freddie always wanted – modest, but roomy. He would have to talk to Jade and Sam about it, later.

The gravity of that simple thought – as natural as it was, it should have scared him, and worried him. But it didn’t. in fact, he couldn’t have been more excited at the prospect.

Unbidden, he smiled at Jade’s new friend. “I want to thank you. And the rest of your friends. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve never…” he quickly cleared his throat. “It might have been years before we tried to make up.”

Dana couldn’t have even fathomed the deep history between the two, the struggles, and the love the young couple could harness for each other. But she had an inkling. “No problem, Freddie.” It sounded genuine, and she intended it to be that way. “If I had someone like you, I’d fly across the country for them, too.”

Jade chose not to acknowledge that statement, giving her boyfriend’s hand a gentle squeeze before commenting, “I told you we shouldn’t have come here. So, your dad’s alright? Considering you’re enforcing his ‘no boys’ rule?”

And just like that, the mood of their newest friend improved. She talked animatedly about her father’s recovery, and how she might have to stay for a few more days to take care of him.

 _That_ got the couple’s attention.

“So, we can stay for a few more days?” Jade whispered, her voice betraying her with a slight higher pitch at the end.

“Maybe the end of the week,” Dana whispered conspiratorially, grinning with the couple.

Freddie had mixed feelings about that, but outwardly, he was happy. He was worried about the days of school Jade would be missing, but they were far and away from actively discussing something like that with her. It would only lead to an argument.

 _You’re learning_ , he told himself.

It was finally time to appreciate the things he had, in the here and now. It was that thought that propelled him to offer his condolences and services to Dana’s father.

“I’m the son of a nurse,” he shrugged at the two girls, who stared at him in confusion. “I want to get on your dad’s good side. Why not try?”

“Uh… sure. I mean, go for it.”

Freddie, with a grateful smile, let himself into the house, and the two girls lingered behind.

Dana eyed Jade suspiciously. “Why would he want to get on the good side of mi papá?”

Jade pursed her lips, not very sure herself. Unless Freddie was actively embracing the topic they had this morning, which she figured would have taken all weekend. “I guess he’s finally starting to see what I’ve known this whole time.”

“What? That he wants to be the next Doogie Howser?”

She scoffed. “He probably _could_.” She grinned broadly. “So… what are you doing this weekend? Because I got a few ideas.”

Dana had no idea what Jade could possibly begin to talk about, and even then, she felt so many emotions at once.

She had dealt with boy-crazy girls in her life, so getting to know Jade had renewed her faith that sometimes, girls had a reason to be super weird about the opposite gender. She was rather neutral about it. No pull or inclination, just curiosity at best.

Jade and Freddie had her curious. And she was starting to feel that Jade could sense that in her.

“How would you…” she paused. She took a deep breath. “How would you like an acting job?”

“I’d… what?”

“Acting? Performance, drama, putting yourself out there?” She gave a lopsided grin. “See, Freddie was telling me about this show he wanted to start up…”

Freddie and Sam might have taken a few hours to convince, but she knew it would take more than that to convince other girls. She didn’t want fuck buddies. Not with Dana, not with Cat, and not with Sam.

She and Freddie had been alone, together, for the past thirteen years. At this point, she wanted more than friends. She wanted them to have a _network_.

Freddie showed more than a little interest in being a technical producer. He could be a great recording artist, of course, and a fantastic film director, one that she would keep in mind for the future, but they both needed a lot of help. Something for all of them, and so much more. Something to keep them busy, and connected, and never alone again. A nice little project for the both of them to explore, based on friendship and – maybe – a successful partnership, in and out of professionalism.

And that, in Jade’s mind, was the beginning of the Benson Burner Project. Title pending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's Note: Considering how awfully young everyone was in the beginning of the story, for timeline purposes, I've made it ambiguous, but as it turns out, that's hard to do when you're including a very involved storyline. So please keep your minds open, and picture what you think is the most beautiful version of each character. This all takes place at the beginning of iCarly, when the talent show that started it all is about to come up. Technically, they're all in seventh grade, and I don't want to change the entire narrative of all of this, so I'm going to have to ask that we all apply a little Fanfiction Magic. These characters don't exist, so let your minds wander. Sorry if that sounds crass, but fanfiction rules shouldn't have legality clauses. If rule34 and 4chan can exist, then so can my story.
> 
> If my account goes down, you can always go to rihaansfics.com/bbp to reconvene. Anything goes over there.


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